Brooklyn, NY – At the sentencing last week Tuesday of a bar mitzvah tutor and social worker convicted of abusing two boys in Brooklyn, a New York State Supreme Court Judge lashed out at the offender’s Orthodox community for “a communal attitude that seems to impose greater opprobrium on the victims than the perpetrator.”
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With his stinging critique, Judge Guston Reichbach placed himself at the center of a fierce debate in the Orthodox community over how best to police the problem of pedophilia.
Speaking from the bench the day after Yom Kippur at the sentencing of the Bar Mitzvah tutor, who received a 13-month jail term, Judge Reichbach said he found it “troubling” that the community “seeks to blame, indeed punish victims who seek justice from the … civil society,” according to a court transcript. He went on to add that the Orthodox community’s religious courts are “inappropriate” and “incapable” of dealing with criminal matters.
Making his comments before a courtroom packed with supporters of the 31-year-old Tutor, according to his defense attorney, school principals, two rabbis and civic leaders – the judge spoke of receiving more than 90 letters attesting to the Tutor’s character and innocence. None of the letters, the judge noted, “displays any concern or any sympathy or even any acknowledgement for these young victims which, frankly, I find shameful.”
Indeed, Judge Reichbach referred to one letter in particular, written by a Mrs. Mandel and expressing sadness “that the tutor’s love of humankind has turned against him,” to be “the height of chutzpah.”
Indeed, in his statements at sentencing, Judge Reichbach praised the victims and their families for the having the courage to come forward despite communal pressures. And he made a point of indicating that precisely because of the community’s “‘circle the wagon attitude’ there is going to be a jail sentence in this case because anything less, I believe, would offend not only the appropriate sense of justice but would also further, in some way, if not penalize [and] … indicate to the victims here who have … suffered the opprobrium of the community that somehow what happened to them was not important, was not significant.”
Judge Reichbach made the point that had the tutor expressed any remorse at the sentencing – he remained “mute,” according to the judge – Tutor might have been entitled to some consideration with respect to the duration of his sentence. In fact, throughout the proceedings Judge Reichbach seemed dismayed by the tutor’s failure to express contrition.
Kevin O’Donnell, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, also argued for jail time as opposed to therapy, which the defense was seeking, emphasizing that the absence of jail time would send “just a very bad message … [not only] to the community but to the family that is in court and the two young victims in the case.”
Both Judge Reichbach’s and O’Donnell’s words were greeted with strong praise from survivors of sexual abuse and their advocates in the Orthodox community, many of whom have, in the past, expressed concerns about the Brooklyn District Attorney’s handling of such cases.
This judge shows much more common sense than the so called “gadolim” who continue to porotect the abusers within the orthodox olam.
This issue just seems to keep coming up in our communities and it’s heartbreaking that Jews seem prone to the sickness of pedophilia. It is absolutely correct and I’ve seen it time and again where we as a community come and try to protect the perpetrator even to the point of blaming and further hurting the victims. It’s true that every Jew needs our love and the sick Jews need our tfilos, but we can’t keep ignoring this problem and pretending it doesn’t exists because it does.
The little ones who are hurt are hurt and often they have issues for the rest of their lives. As a community we do need to daven for those who are sick, but we also need to make clear that wrong is wrong and it won’t be tolerated.
Go Judge!! Well said. And I will write to you & let you know that most people (I hope) in the orthodox Jewish community agree with your words & the “Mrs. Mandels” of the world are totally misguided individuals who just don’t get it.
I am B”H not a victim, nor is anyone I know. But I know right from wrong.
There is no clinical evidence in medical community that “therapy” for pedophiles and sexual molesters works. I wish that the legal systems across the states recognize that therapy is not an adequate remedy or a solution for sexual molesters. The recidivism rates or repeat offenses from pedophiles is documented to be VERY HIGH.
It is an embarrassment to Klal Yisroel that a judge from a secular state court knows very well that the orthodox communities are protecting pedophiles over victims. This is an abomination against Hashem and the Torah. The false image of perfect communities is more important to the rabbis than our children it seems. DAs should be shameful if they are cozy with Frum leaders and refuse to prosecute with full force frum pedophiles or only want “therapy” over prison sentences.
we should all tear ‘kriya’ on hearing this. we have become such a perversion!! for so long we have looked down on the ‘goyim’, now the goyim look down on us!! is this what yiddishkeit is about? trying to keep molesters on the streets and out of prison?? begging for rachmonus for a pedophile – what about rachmonus for our yiddishe kinder?!?!
for shame. we have become so sick. this is not yiddishkeit, it is avodah zoro. we worship ourselves and our communities, not hashem. do you really think hashem is on the side of the molester her and not the yiddishe kinder???
Let us not confuse the two issues that surely will be reflected in the comments to this Vosizneias item:
A. Justice Reichbach’s comments, in this particular instance, are absolutely on the mark; and
B. There is no denying that Gustin Reichbach does carry lots of personal baggage. He was a leader of the radical group which shut down Columbia University in 1968, and has made few attempts to conceal his personal distaste for the frum community. He also has a frum brother living in Israel. That he has handled so many cases from the bench in an objective manner is much to his credit. I am no fan of his, but to be fair, he has recused himself (or at least offered to recuse himself) when his past activities have touched upon the individuals and issues brought before him.
Stupid judge. Rabbinical courts never interfere in criminal matters, and the community just might know something about the so-called victims that you don’t know. Don’t pretend you care more about victims in the orthodox community than the orthodox community themselves. Judge Reichbach seems to have based his verdict on his personal feelings rather than on proof of anything. Shame!
He’s a Yid?? I thought he was a German immigrant. Huh! Just shows, you can never tell a person’s background from his name. Whatever/whoever he is, though, he was dead right on this one.
The fact that there were no letters showing concern for the victims should raise a red flag. Why had they no support among neighbors and friends or people who know them?
We have to make this issue as public as possible. Our childeren must be aware of the issue and must feel free to speak up if anything ever happens.
Ok what’s the other side of the story? I’m sure they don’t believe he did what he is accused of. Unfortuntly false accusations happen much more the they want to admit. I personally know of a number of terrible cases where eventually the case was proven false beyond the shadow of a dout. But in each and every case we must be so careful. And please we all know how little we can trust a jury to come to the right verdict. If you don’t have physical evidence and you don’t know all the facts how can you have a credible opinion?
a sinner like a pedophile should be punished acording to how halacha would say
The judge should know that he has the support of the “silent majority” in the Frum community.
P.S. had this guilty verdict happened in Israel we would probably be required by out “Gedollim” to go out and riot. what a shame….
Even after the sentencing, the nightmares are still there, maybe for me, but I live with it each day of my life, even still as an adult, with the demons inside of me. So, let say, he gets 25 years in jail, but no apology, and I would love for them to tell us of why??
I read and reread the article no where does it say how it was proven he did these things. Was there a video ? Or it was only based on what these boys said? I personally was once accused by a parent of hiting their (2nd grade) son. The accusation was totaly false and baseless B”H the principal was able to verify that nothing ever happened. (The kid made some innocent comment, the parent jumped to conclusions and concocted a story) but it was a month of torture. So when I read such stories I need proof.
its a shame a judge had to say what our rabbis should. Someone’s gat to say it and he did. Thumbs up.
For those who are concerned because there were no witnesses or video, idiots, if there would be this would never os happened.
The judge is a moron. The tutor is not responsible for the sins of his community. He should punish as is fit and not repremand the coomunity using the tutor as a proxy. Also, I wonder what evidence were presented.
Hey brilliant judge, sometimes the victims are the abusers. There’s a growing scourge of false/unsubstantiated accusations which you and your ilk don’t care to address. It’s especially exciting for you to lay your hands on somebody in the frum community, but you let your own leanings sway your judgment. You sentenced the accused for his lack of apology for a crime he may not even have committed and for letters attesting to his character, not for any valid proof that he did the crime.There’s probably good reason why the community did not support the victims.
This judge is a parasite.
From New York Times 2003/07/01
-His only brother is an Orthodox Jew who changed his name to Eliyahu, moved to Israel and embraces the right wing of Israeli politics. ”It is amazing we come from the same gene pool,” Justice Reichbach said-
Some Reichbachs from Galizien Kroenlande settled in Manhattan around the turn of the last century.
1. Did all 3 kids make up the same story? 2. If I were the judge, I’d yell at each of the supporters, film it and put it on youtube. 3. Punishment? The least harsh-(at the very least) there should be a restraining order on him to keep away from any child under 18 and have supervision even with his own kids. 4. Each “outrage” or chillul hashem this year seems not to be able to be topped… What a shame. What a shame.
“Contrition”? How does one show contition for an act the he is innocent of?
“Silent Majority” is the correct term unfortunately. We have to be more vocal about this issue. To those of you in denial….Wake Up!!!!! I am impressed that the judge made it clear to these “supporters”, the fact that they should be ashamed of themselves for not even mentioning the poor victims. The judge was not sentencing the whole Jewish Community, he was sentencing a sick individual that should not be around children. Unfortunately, we are not immune to this problem. Hashem created us as human beings, not Malochim. Like I tell my children and students…. We have Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Horah, and if we CHOOSE to follow our Yetzer Horah, we CHOOSE the appropriate consequence!!! (and if that means sitting in jail for molesting a child, he CHOSE this ……so be it)! To all of those predators out there….we are not staying quite anymore!!! If you CHOOSE to molest a child….you CHOOSE Jail.
sounds unfair tha judge says he is specifically giving longer sentence because of cmmunity attitude…. ie not what the accused did….. but what communit did o did not do?
if someone is gulty of this crime long sentence not long wnough… but its very disurtbing that judge says no letters from supports of victims… why not? either they did really good job of keeping their identity hidden or no one who knows them think they r telling truth?
he should not be allowed to work with children in any capacity regardless of age.
Eidim and hasra’ah are only under normal circumstances. The judges have every right to punish based on lemigdor milsa or sha’as hashmad (choshen mishpat siman 2). This is a case where you aren’t very likely to have 2 kosher witnesses and hasra’ah, and a beis din has every right to punish instead of hiding behind “eidim and hasra’ah”.
The letters came, as even the Prosecutor said, from all over the world, from goyim too, and not just this community. As it is in many criminal cases, letters of character reference are submitted to Judges rendering sentence and that is how they were presented – they did not refer to the victims because they were letters of reference for the defendant. The fact that the Judge chose to misinterpret this was his decision. The fact that 2 of the original 4 kids were knocked out the day they testified should raise alarm to anyone following the case. And the fact that even the Judge, the Prosecutor, and the Mother admitted that one of the kids was messed up before he even met this guy should raise eyebrows too!
It should have been 13 months for each one.
I think the Judge should be praised and all the people in the room should go to therapy.
I recently spoke to a former victim of his from a few years ago. He was very concerned that this guy will be out hurting kids again in 13 months. The lack of contrition and his ability to fool so many people really bothers me.
Once again, people are misinformed. This was a bench trial, no Jury, and it was the word of the kids versus the defendant – evidence of the prosecution was the testimony. The kids were all believed on their own unless the defense attorney could show the kids were factually lying. One kid, for instance, was proven lying when cellphone and billing records showed that the he and the defendant were 2 miles away from each other on the dates and times he said he was molested by him. That’s why there were only 2 out of the 4 and the kids always had the upper hand. He was found guilty because the kids were believed unless he could prove them lying.
If I read earlier reports correctly, this tutor admitted doing the actions for which he was charged. Only he claimed that the children were the ones that began the sequence of events. That is not a defense at all, as the children are minors and do not have the consent to engage in such behavior. This man had professional training and was fully aware of that. I am appalled at the comments that suggest that this judge convicted him without evidence. That cannot happen in a courtroom. Furthermore, there are laws that specify the maximum sentence that can be given, and anyone found guilty of a crime should be able to be sentenced for the max. If there should be a reduction of the sentence, there must be a reason for the prosecutor to request it or the judge to consider it. This defendant gave no indication to the court that he had any remorse for his behavior. I feel bad that he will be doing time, though I thought the sentence was going to be for several years. But I also thought that he would indicate that he was sorry (not that remorse would help the victims at all).
Lastly, one might challenge the messenger here, but focusing on the message would be more appropriate. Our community has a dismal record regarding victims of abuse, and we are notorious in protecting and defending perpetrators. After all the justifications for such distorted values, we cannot rely on our own systems to insure that our children are safe. Halacha and secular law need to be brought together in a responsible way. And if this judge gives another push to make that happen, I’d be pleased to see the result.
The Torah says in Parsahs Ki-Taitsai 25:11. “v’ishilcha yada v’hichzika b’imivushav v’ikatsosa es kapo lo sochas aincha – she grabbed his humilation – she molested him, cut off her hand, DO NOT HAVE ANY PITY”.
Chazal say that anyone who has pity on the wrong person will eventually become an Achzur -barbaric person.
No. 4 called the judge “stupid,” no. 39 called him a “parasite” and no. 42 discerned that he’s a “moron.”
Now let’s see: (1) the judge is Jewish, (2) clearly none of these commenters know the judge personally, and (3) it is unlikely that any of them were present in court when the trial testimony and evidence was presented.
Nevertheless, these three “erliche” yidden felt compelled to sling their lashon hara and slander b’farhessia, with the Yomim Narayim barely behind us. Nice going folks…right out of the gate you’ve sullied your newly cleaned slates with hate-filled, mindless epithets against another Jew. For everyone else, these are not Yidden whose example should be followed. No one is saying that you can’t disagree with the judge…but it can be done with intelligent arguments and logical analysis; not with boorish name-calling. This is not the derech of Yirai Shomayim.
#58 , you obviously have no idea what can and cannot happen in a court room. Read the transcript if you want the facts: the DA posted it online with the names of the alleged victims as well and it’s in Rabbi Dovid Cohen’s shtender.
while he’s incarcerated, he has time to reflect deeper and deeper what he had done wrong and to think what type of work will he do for his livelihood
I seem to have been misunderstood in comment 19. My point was that it is very difficult to punish or deter the pedophile according to Torah, and therefore our community must rely on the secular courts.
with good behavior he’ll be released before 13 months
Lets be Honest . If this were you ,and you knew you wre innocent ,would you admiy to doing it just to possibly get some rachmonus from the judge ? I dont think most people would . Why should he show contrition ,if he really knows that he is innocent . as you can see ,some of the kids were proven to be liars and yhose charges were dropped ,so why cant it be that te other 2 were just better liars and the judge belived them .
any rov, rebbe, rosh yeshiva,who knows that someone is a pedophile,and does not report him to the authorities,is a danger to society just like the pedophile himself,and he should be arrested and thrown into jail together with all the criminals
How do you know the supposed victims reported this to their Rebbeim or teachers and were ignored? Stop jumping to conclusions.
The transcript is public record and readily available since the kids chose to testify in open court so the names of the kids are not protected. The Prosecutor mentioned this too! That’s also how the press was able to report on the trial while it was going on – because it was all public and out in the open.
There was no need to put this guy behind bars for such an extended period of time. In this close knit community we live in, this individual, who I know, was cursed and destroyed by all the loshon hora groups that gather bein gavra l’gavra during and after davening. He received his punishement by his “peers”. Putting him behind bars for 13 months is cruel. The mere fact that he will never work again in his field is enough to endure.
Does anyone have an address that I can send a thank you letter to this judge he might help even one child it will pay one abuser should be hung on 13 ave and our problems could be solved
thank g-d that in the days of redemption truth is being revealed. at least the children will know they are being protected.this really comes from g-d almighty.
13 months is a joke. What about the scars that remains on these victims for life?
When he’s released will there be any kind of stipulations that he’s have to adhere by?
I am glad that this judge is concerned about the welfare of these victims
What other credentials does this guy have besides molesting children?
Some people need attention and claim to be victims. I personally know someone who was really abused by a family member and with proper help got out of it. He is not danaged as he knows that the sick guy is not he. Those instable individuals love to blame other people for their misery. A npormal healthy person can get over it.
Kids can NOT fabricate molestation stories. In their wildest imagination these things just don’t exist, So the next time a child comes with details you better believe him! Child molesters are the lowest of the low and should be put away for life. Let’s see who else will dare molest with such a threat hanging over him.
To sdat kids can’t make this up is total baloney. I just read a story in the paper where a teacher was going to go on trial and in the end the accuser admitted making it up. But the terachers reputationm is gone in any case. This happens every single day in this country. All I can say is that if it was proven that some of the accusations were untrue then all the accusations are suspect to me. I really feel sorry for this guy ti have gotten such a judge. He never had a chance.