Sderot preschool teacher indicted for hundreds of counts of child abuse

An indictment was filed against Israeli preschool teacher Ilana Suisa, 55, on Tuesday for allegedly abusing and assaulting toddlers in her care on hundreds of occasions, according to a release from the Attorney General's Office. 

The indictment was filed by Israel's Southern District Attorney's Office in the Beersheba district court. It stated that Suisa has been a preschool teacher in Sderot for 17 years, the last 12 of which were spent working with infants and toddlers aged 6-18 months.  

During the period of time relevant to the indictment, Suisa had 18 children in her care and was found to be responsible for hundreds of instances of physical and mental abuse toward them. 

Ilana Suisa's alleged crimes 

Among many other crimes that she has been charged with are charges of, stepping on, pinching, hitting, kicking and throwing the children in her care.

Suisa was also said to be very harsh verbally toward the children, frequently yelling at them. She would also act in anger, beating them until they cried. She would punish children who did not sleep at nap time by lifting them into the air and throwing them back down onto their sleep mats. 

"Suisa ran the class using violence against the children, instilling a harsh atmosphere of violence and fear," read the district attorney's report. "[She took] advantage of the fact that these are tender children who cannot defend themselves against her, and are unable to report and complain about her criminal actions."

As part of the arrest warrant, attorney Hila Drimer, who filed the indictment, stated that Suisa's behavior is even more insidious than it seems. She not only showed a systemic pattern of violent behavior, but she also continued her activities aware that she was being recorded on the school's security cameras. 

She was charged with several counts of child abuse, assault and neglect.