Nearly two dozen ultra-Orthodox Jews were arrested and charged after police uncovered a pedophile ring that targeted ultra-Orthodox Jewish children in Jerusalem

Court convicts leader of Jerusalem ultra-Orthodox Jewish pedophile ring

Nearly two dozen ultra-Orthodox Jews were arrested and charged after police uncovered a pedophile ring that targeted ultra-Orthodox Jewish children in Jerusalem.

Now, the Jerusalem District Court convicted the first man to stand trial among several defendants accused of sexually abusing children in the Nahlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem, a case police initially called the largest case of pedophilia in the state's history.

The court sentenced **, who was the first of the 18 men who were arrested in the case that came to light two years ago. Two other men are now on trial and 15 others were released in the case that sent shock waves through the neighborhood where many ultra-Orthodox Jews live.

The judges found the man guilty, but canceled his confession to police after they determined that it had been obtained through unfair psychological pressure. The man was acquitted of one of the counts in the indictment.

The three judges of the District Court determined that the man, whom they described as having an irregular personality with childhood issues, invited neighborhood children to his house and played with them that involved inappropriate touching and indecent acts. He also sodomized children with an object. He was also convicted of threatening children, telling them he was going to burn down their house if they told anyone about his actions.

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