Michigan judge sends 3 siblings to detention center for refusing LUNCH with father

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Judge Lisa Gorcyca presided over a hearing on supervised parenting time relating to Tsimhoni family in civil court in Oakland County, MI, last month
She criticized Liam, 14, Roee, 10, and Natalie Tsimhoni, nine, for avoiding their father, Omer, and ordered them to have lunch with him in cafeteria
When the youngsters refused, she held each of them in contempt of court
She has now sent them to Children's Village - a juvenile detention center
Trio will spend summer there - and could stay there when school starts
Mr Tsimhoni claims his ex-wife, Maya Tsimhoni, 'brainwashed' his children
She denies this; says kids are wrongly being punished for messy divorce

Published: 16:11 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 16:32 EST, 9 July 2015

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A Michigan judge has sent three siblings between the ages of nine and 14 to a juvenile detention center after they refused to have lunch or speak to their father as part of a custody agreement.

Judge Lisa Gorcyca presided over a hearing on supervised parenting time relating to Omer Tsimhoni, his ex-wife Maya and their three children in Oakland County's family court last month.

She criticized Liam Tsimhoni, 14, and his siblings Roee, 10, and Natalie, nine, for avoiding their father - and even compared their behavior to that of murderer Charles Manson and his cult.

She ordered the youngsters - whom she said had been 'brainwashed' by their mother - to begin a new, 'healthy relationship' with Mr Tsimhoni by apologizing and sitting down for lunch with him.

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Put in detention: Judge Lisa Gorcyca has sent Liam Tsimhoni (center), 14, and his siblings Roee (left), 10, and Natalie (right), nine, to a juvenile detention center after they refused to have lunch or speak to their father

Ruling: Michigan judge Gorcyca (pictured, left, in her robes and, right, in a Facebook photo) presided over a hearing on supervised parenting time relating to the Tsimhonis in Oakland County's family court last month

When the trio refused to do so in the court cafeteria, she held them all in contempt of civil court.

Judge Gorcyca then sent the children away to Children's Village, a juvenile center in Oakland County. They will remain there for the summer - and could be kept there when school restarts.

'We'll review it when school starts, and you may be going to school there,' the judge said during the hearing, which grew out of a contentious divorce case between the Tsimhonis that began in 2009.

As part of her ruling, Judge Gorcyca, who has a young child, banned Ms Tsimhoni from visiting her children at the facility - instead, only permitting the two brothers and sister to see their father.

She also said the siblings should be 'kept away from each other as much as possible'.

Speaking to Fox Detroit, Ms Tsimhoni lashed out at the judge's June 24 verdict.

'No matter how bad the divorce gets, I think the court should not punish the kids for that,' Ms Tsimhoni said, adding: 'I cannot understand something like that can even happen in this country.'

Meanwhile, Mr Tsimhoni said in an interview with The Observer that his ex-wife had 'poisoned' his children's brains - and that he would 'do anything' for the trio to have a good relationship with him.

'Brainwashed': The judge criticized Liam, Roee and Natalie (all pictured together) for avoiding their father. She ordered the youngsters to begin a new, 'healthy relationship' with Mr Tsimhoni by having lunch with him

Summer home: When the trio refused to do so in the court cafeteria, she held them all in contempt of civil court. Judge Gorcyca then sent the children to Children's Village's (above), a juvenile hall in Oakland County

The father, who is an internationally renowned traffic safety researcher and GM engineer, added that his ex-spouse had been previously reprimanded herself for not bringing her children to visitations.

'She was reprimanded a month or two before this happened for contempt of court,' he said.

Mr Tsimhoni's lawyer, Keri Middleditch, said the children's mother was exploiting the children - and that her 'alienation' of them had resulted in them being ordered into juvenile care in Pontiac.

Ms Tsimhoni denies this.

During last month's hearing, Liam reportedly told the judge that he apologized for 'whatever I did to you' - but would not apologize to his father, whom he claimed had hit his mother in his sight.

'He's violent and he - I saw him hit my mom and I'm not gonna talk to him,' the teenager said.

Judge Gorcyca replied: 'You chose not to talk to your father. You defied a direct court order. It's direct contempt, so I am finding you guilty of civil contempt,' the Detroit Free Press reported.

'Poisoned brains': Omer Tsimhoni (left) said in an interview with The Observer that his ex-wife had 'poisoned' his children's brains - and that he would 'do anything' for the trio (right) to have a good relationship with him

She then ordered Liam's younger siblings to sit down for lunch with their father - but they refused.

'I'll go with my brother then,' Roee apparently told the judge.

In response, the judge said: 'Your dad is a good man. And wipe that smirk off your face.'

Judge Gorcyca told Ms Tsimhoni that her children 'need to do a research program on Charlie Manson and the cult that he has', adding that she had never seen such behavior in her career.

She described the Pontiac as one of the worst 'parental alienation' cases she has presided over.

'You’re very defiant, you have no manners. There is no reason why you do not have a relationship with your father. Your father has never been charged with anything,' she told the oldest sibling.

'Your father doesn’t have a personal protection order against him. Your father is well-liked and loved by the community, his co-workers, his family, his colleagues. You, young man, have got it wrong.'

Not happy: Speaking to Fox Detroit , Ms Tsimhoni (pictured) lashed out at the judge's verdict on June 4. 'No matter how bad the divorce gets, I think the court should not punish the kids for that,' said the mother of three

Although the siblings each had a court-appointed lawyer, they refused to speak to them, it is said.

Lisa Stern, who is representing Ms Tsimhoni, said Judge Gorcyca's ruling 'shocks the conscience'.

She added that she is asking the chief judge in Oakland County Family Court to review the case.

No matter how bad the divorce gets, I think the court should not punish the kids for that. I cannot understand something like that can even happen in this country

Maya Tsimhoni

The Tsimhoni's divorce case - and subsequent custody battle - began after Mr Tsimhoni got a job with GM in 2008 and moved to Israel.

At the time, Ms Tsimhoni, who is from Israel like her husband, refused to move back with him.

She then filed for divorce from her husband and stopped him from seeing or speaking to their children, Mr Tsimhoni told the Observer.

However, a few months later, she moved out to Israel with Liam, Roee and Natalie, he said.

'She moved to Israel, we moved all of our belongings here and then one day she suddenly disappeared and took the kids. Next I heard from her she was in Michigan,' said Mr Tsimhoni.

Mr Tsimhoni subsequently moved back to Michigan to be 'near his children' and 'mend his relationship' with them. He had been seeing them on a 'regular basis' under supervision.

He has since remarried.

Judge Gorcyca did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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