An Orthodox woman has told a court how her husband sexually and physically abused her.

Rivky Stein, 25, made the allegations at Kings County Supreme Court in New York during a hearing to determine custody of her five-year-old son and four-year-old daughter.

She is asking for full custody, with supervised visitation rights for their father, 32-year-old Yoel Weiss.

Ms Stein testified that when her daughter was less than two years old, Mr Weiss came out of the shower naked and "put his private parts in [the daughter's] hand for her to play with".

The court also heard how Mr Weiss punched his wife in the stomach while she was pregnant. She said: "He threatened to take my kids away from me. I didn't agree to go to Canada. He held my son against my will and I went with my daughter. He said if I ever want to see my son again, I should do as he says."

Ms Stein broke down as she said: "Whenever I refused anything from Yoel, he raped me, physically hurt me, abused me and threatened me."

Mr Weiss denies the allegations.

Ms Stein started a Facebook group last year called "Redeem Rivky: Demand that Yoel Weiss Give his Wife a Get" after two years of trying to escape the relationship. It now has 10,000 likes. She claims he still refuses to give her a get.