"Victim" Declaration - Public Prosecutor Letterhead

PAGE 1 In the municipality of Guatemala, department of Guatemala, on the fifth of February two thousand twenty-five, at ten thirty in the morning, before AUXILIARY FISCAL (Deputy Prosecutor) SARA MARIBEL GÓMEZ GONZÁLEZ, sitting at the Anti-Human Trafficking Prosecutor's Office, located at 15th Avenue 15-16, Zone 1, municipality and department of Guatemala; there appears: ADOLFO JOSÉ ROSALES PALACIOS, 16 years of age, accompanied by Licenciada María Jerónima Berdúo Campos, Psychologist III of the Anti-Human Trafficking Prosecutor's Office, and by Licenciado Juan Rodrigo Marín Flores, attorney and notary with bar registration number 14,723, who designates for receipt of notifications and/or summons: 11th Street 7-35, Zone 1, Lido Building, Apartment 3 "E", Municipality and Department of Guatemala, who also, due to urgency, serves as interpreter from English to Spanish; and Mr. Shie Blum, identified by Passport number 648972071, issued by the United States of America, which is presented and returned at the act, who serves as interpreter from Yiddish to English, an adult male who is identified as Witness "A" in accordance with Article 217 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, who gives his authorization for ADOLFO JOSÉ ROSALES PALACIOS to give his TESTIMONIAL DECLARATION as an aggrieved party, and the proceeding continues as follows: FIRST: It is hereby noted that the witness identified as "A" EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZES the interview of Adolfo José Rosales Palacios. SECOND: The appearing party states that: I was not born into the Lev Tahor community — my parents joined it when I was five years old. My sister Génesis also joined; she was eight years old. I do not know her other name. I was born on the twenty-first of November two thousand eight in Guatemala. When I was a child there were no punishments within the Community, but as I grew older the punishments became harsher. It was bad — not all the people were bad, the bad ones were the leaders of the Lev Tahor community. They forced me to get married. The punishments were: if we did not have sexual relations they would separate us into a room apart, we could not see anyone, nor speak with anyone, not with the family, not with our parents — and this same punishment was imposed for disobeying anything else. I was forced to get married; I could not say no, I was not permitted to. Before getting married I did not know what sexual relations were. The one who taught me what sexual relations were and how to have them was YOEL ROSMER, and when we had sexual relations with my wife ESTER GOLMAN no one observed — I was fourteen years old and my wife was also fourteen. (Page continues — bottom cut off) PAGE 2 I would like to say more things: in the community they forced people to have children and there was no birth control, and when women did not become pregnant they took us to the doctor to see if we were capable of having children. Marriages were forced at first, but afterward love grew between us and our wives. First they forced me to marry, and once I felt love for my wife the punishment was that they separated me from her and would not let me see her. I would like to mention more punishments they imposed on us: I was sick for two weeks with a fever and they did not let me go to the doctor because the leaders did not want to spend money and my parents had no money to take me, because in the community they were not allowed to have money. When women went to give birth they were not permitted to have doctors — instead, a person from the community who was not a doctor attended. I do not know that person's legal name, because the Hebrew name is not always the legal name, but we called him ABADIYAH. I can recognize him; he was the principal "doctor" of the Community, but he had no license. There were also two other people who attended births but were not doctors; I only know the Hebrew name of one of them: RAFAUL, and his wife — I do not know her name. RAFAUL escaped and his wife remains in the community. On one occasion two babies needed to be taken to the doctor but CHAIM MALKA did not permit it, and those two babies died — I do not know the date. I want to continue saying that the leaders wanted RAFAUL to sign, under his medical license, all the medical matters that occurred in the community, and the leaders threatened to separate him from his wife, so he escaped from the community. I want to name the leaders: the principal one was CHAIM MALKA, YOEL GOLDMAN, PAGE 3 the leaders I am mentioning are not in prison — they are free. Another leader is NISSEN MALKA, YOEL ROSNER, ABRAHAN DINKL. When they punished me they only gave me bread, and I had half an hour to eat it — if I did not eat it in half an hour they took it away and would not give me food again until nighttime. The leader who forced me to get married was CHAIM MALKA, and the physical punishment was carried out by YOEL GOLDMAN and NISSEN MALKA; they beat me and traumatized me mentally, and all those punishments were ordered by CHAIM MALKA. They slapped me with their hands on the face; the blows were so hard that my face turned red. Now ABRAHAN DINKL only screamed at me — he screamed at me so much that I feel traumatized by it: "Get out of here, you are a bad boy, you are a piece of garbage." I am sixteen years old with zero education; I did not go to school, and if anyone from the community found me studying on my own, CHAIM MALKA and YOEL GOLDMAN would punish me. I feel that the leaders destroyed my life. I am sixteen years old and I am nothing. And not only that — they took my wife away from me; I do not know where she is. They had housed her somewhere, and since she said she was nineteen years old they let her go. I saw her in a video in the street. The leaders told me they were going to send my wife to another country with a different passport. There is a person named SAMUEL FOX — he is from the United States and plays both sides. He was the one who told me; he lets it be known that he is in agreement with the Lev Tahor Community and with those of us who are outside it. This was a day or two after the SBS allowed the adult women to leave. SAMUEL FOX told me they were going to dress my wife in men's clothing and give her someone else's adult passport so she could escape to El Salvador, but when they arrived in El Salvador they were not permitted to enter and had to return. My wife's name is ESTER GOLDMAN, she is sixteen years old and she is the sister of the leader YOEL GOLDMAN. THIRD: The undersigned Deputy Prosecutor proceeds to ask the following questions of the appearing party: How do you feel about everything that happened to you? — He answers: I feel that they have ruined my life. I cry almost every night because I feel they have destroyed my life. Could you indicate the place where the events you mentioned previously occurred? — He answers: Yes, in the Lev Tahor Community, at the printing house in ALDEA EL AMATILLO, MUNICIPALITY OF ORATORIO, DEPARTMENT OF SANTA ROSA. PAGE 4 Could you indicate the date the events you mentioned previously occurred? — He answers: Yes, that was September 14, two thousand twenty-three, when they married me. FOURTH: The undersigned Deputy Prosecutor presents to the appearing party an official communication dated December twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty-four, from the Specialized Criminal Investigation Division, National Civil Police — DEIC — identified as Official Communication No. 2701-2024 Ref. TRATA/crisol, which contains photographs of the alleged aggressors so that the appearing party may identify his aggressors through photographs. The appearing party proceeds to identify photograph number 2 of Annex 2, stating: this is NISSEN MALKA, and his full name is NISSEN YEHOSHIA YEHUDA MALKA, who struck me for the last time on October 22, 2024 at night; on that same date they removed me from the Lev Tahor Community in Amatillo, Oratorio, Santa Rosa — they put me out on the street with no adult present. He likewise proceeds to identify photograph number 1 of Annex 3, stating: this is a leader; his legal name is CHAIM MALKA — he is the one who forced me to get married. The appearing party also identifies photograph 1 of Annex 4, stating: his legal name is YOEL GOLDMAN, who struck me on the face — the last time he struck me was June 10, 2024, at night in El Amatillo, Oratorio, Santa Rosa, at the printing house. I am traumatized by him (the adolescent points to his face with his hands). Likewise, the official communication from the Specialized Criminal Investigation Division, National Civil Police — DEIC — identified as No. 043-2025 Ref. CRPC/crisol is presented, which contains the identification data of the alleged doctor of the Lev Tahor Community; the appearing party reviews it and states: yes, he is ABADIYAH (Luis Fernando Guzmán Abril). Do you know in what document the marriage within the community was recorded? — He answers: in a religious marriage license, and Rabbi Aaon Teller was the one who authorized it. FIFTH: There being nothing further to record, the present declaration is concluded at the same place and date at PAGE 5 fourteen hours and sixteen minutes. The declaration is read by the appearing parties and by the undersigned Deputy Prosecutor, who, being informed of its content, purpose, validity, and other legal effects, ratify, accept, and sign it, and the adolescent leaves the fingerprint of his right thumb. Position Name Appearing party / Victim ADOLFO JOSÉ ROSALES PALACIOS (right thumbprint affixed) Witness "A" (thumbprints on pages 1 & 4) Shie Blum (signed) Psychologist III Licenciada María Jerónima Berdúo Campos, Fiscalía Contra la Trata de Personas, Ministerio Público (signed) Attorney and Notary Juan Rodrigo Marín Flores (signed) Auxiliary Fiscal (Deputy Prosecutor) SARA MARIBEL GÓMEZ GONZÁLEZ, Fiscalía Contra la Trata de Personas (signed and stamped) Stamps / Seals • Official MP (Ministerio Público) stamp — "Fiscalía Contra la Trata de Personas" — appears on pages 1–5 • "Secretaría Privada y de Asuntos Estratégicos — Ministerio Público" blue seal — appears on pages 2–5 • Case reference: M0025-2025-15; DEIC references: No. 2701-2024 Ref. TRATA/crisol and No. 043-2025 Ref. CRPC/crisol Note on handwritten marginalia: The left margins of pages 1 and 4 contain handwritten notations that appear to be internal court file references (partial numbers and abbreviations such as "estico °A", "189, J.3271-", "P1·76·", and similar tracking codes). These are procedural indexing marks used by the Ministerio Público clerk, not substantive content.