TORONTO and CHATHAM, Ont. – An Ontario judge has ordered the apprehension of children belonging to ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor after they missed an appeal hearing Wednesday morning.
Chatham-Kent Children’s Services believes the children have gone missing and potentially fled the country.
It wouldn’t be the first time: The Lev Tahor group initially fled from Ste-Agathe-des-Monts in Quebec to Chatham, Ont. just before a November court appearance. Quebec’s social services agency was in the midst of an investigation into issues related to their children’s health, hygiene and allegations of child abuse and that the children weren’t learning according to the provincial curriculum.
Foreign Affairs told Global News in an email: “We are aware of a Canadian citizen who was denied entrance into Trinidad & Tobago. To protect the privacy of the individual concerned, further details on this case cannot be released.”
VIDEO: Lev Tahor students struggle to answer basic questions in English
Since then, more serious allegations were released to public following requests from media organizations: Heavily redacted court documents referenced allegations of drugged and confined children; corporal punishment, sexual abuse, psychological control, immigration fraud and underage marriage.
READ MORE: Lev Tahor rabbi accuses authorities of ‘genocide’; new abuse allegations released
Ontario Court Judge Stephen Fuerth ordered Feb. 3 that the children – with the exception of a 17-year-old who is also married and a mother – be returned to Quebec to the care of child welfare there. Lev Tahor filed an appeal scheduled to be heard Wednesday; Fuerth ordered the community not to leave the jurisdiction of Chatham-Kent in the meantime.
“The families are not in court, so at this point we believe that they are missing,” said Chatham-Kent Children’s Services Executive Director Stephen Doig.
“We’ve alerted our sister agencies that have jurisdiction on the Canadian-American borders should they try to cross into the U.S.”
Doig said his agency had been visiting their Chatham home on an “ongoing basis” and the last time they checked – within the past week – the children were still there. He said if the group has left Canada, his organization will need to contact the Canadian Border Services agency to see “what if anything they could do to assist.”
The landlord of the rural Chatham compound Lev Tahor had made its new home said she had no indication any of them were leaving, and that they kept up with their rent. Many of the homes in the compound, including the main office, were locked; people walking between buildings walked swiftly and didn’t talk to reporters.
RCMP could not confirm whether the Lev Tahor children had fled Canada. An immigration officer at the Piarco International Airport would not confirm reports that the group had tried to enter Trinidad and Tobago, only to be detained at the airport.
Doig was not aware of an emergency motion brought forth by his agency in Chatham court Wednesday morning.
READ MORE: Under the veil of Lev Tahor, Jewish sect accused of abuse
The hearing has now been rescheduled for April 4.
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