Colombia deports nine members of the ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect, accused of child sex abuse, following the rescue of 17 minors from the group.
BOGOTÁ: Colombian authorities announced the expulsion of nine members of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect accused of child sex abuse on Monday.
The announcement came just over a week after immigration services said they had rescued 17 minors from the group.
The Lev Tahor sect has been the subject of investigations for the mistreatment of minors in several countries, including Mexico and Canada.
Images released by authorities showed sect members in black tunics walking through security at Medellin airport to board a flight to New York.
A spokesperson for Colombia’s migration agency said some of the rescued minors were also transferred back to the United States on the same flight.
The minors, from various places including the US and Guatemala, were entrusted to US child protective services.
Lev Tahor, Hebrew for “pure heart”, was formed in the 1980s, with some members settling in Guatemala in 2013.
Authorities estimate the community is made up of roughly 50 families from Guatemala, the United States, Canada and other countries.
Interpol has issued red notices for the arrest of some of the group’s leaders.
In December 2024, Guatemalan authorities rescued 160 minors from a farm occupied by Lev Tahor.
Public prosecutors alleged they were subjected to forced pregnancy, mistreatment of minors and rape.
