Midwood, NY – An Orthodox rabbi and three of his sons are suspected of sexually abusing at least four female relatives after the rabbi’s eldest victim — his daughter — confided in a co-worker at a Jewish school, police said Friday.
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The 58-year-old father and his 21-year-old son fled to Israel two days ago and are wanted for questioning in the case, police said. They were apparently driven to the airport by the mother.
Two other sons, a 24-year-old and a 15-year-old, were arrested on sexual abuse and rape charges. It was unclear whether they had attorneys, and a message left at the home wasn’t immediately returned.
The suspects’ names are being withheld by The Associated Press to avoid identification of victims.
Police say the abuse came to light after the oldest victim, now 20, who worked as a teacher’s aide at a Jewish school in Brooklyn, told a teacher there she had been abused. Authorities believe she was assaulted by her father repeatedly for 15 years. The other victims range in age from 8 to 19, and investigators believe the abuse was also repeated.
Police say the father is suspected of abusing at least two of his daughters. The brothers were accused of rape and other crimes for abusing their sisters. The youngest suspect was accused of sexually assaulting the 8-year-old.
“This family … has been engaged in a horrific pattern of sexual abuse,” said Assistant District Attorney John Holmes.
The family lived in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Midwood in a two-story frame house and the father and mother, who are first cousins, had 14 children, police said. All but two live in the home.
The 24-year-old suspect was married and lived elsewhere, as did the oldest child. There are seven girls and seven boys in the family.
New York Police Department chief department spokesman Paul Browne said the investigation was ongoing and it’s possible there could be additional victims. The father and son, who is legally blind, left for Israel from Kennedy International Airport on Nov. 29, Browne said. An NYPD detective assigned as a liaison in Jerusalem will assist officers there in the search, Browne said.
The father was a former head of Yeshiva Tehila L’Dovid until about three months ago, when he resigned for unknown reasons. There was no answer at the school Friday; police would not say if it was the same school where the oldest victim worked.
State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, whose districts include many of the ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods, discussed sexual abuse among members of the insular world of ultra-Orthodox Jews on a radio show in 2008, prompting dozens of listeners to come forward with stories of abuse. Critics have said sex abuse claims are sometimes handled quietly in Orthodox rabbinical courts, rather than being reported to authorities.
As a result, the state earmarked about $1 million to fund Hikind’s plans to teach Hasidic Jews to speak up against child molestation. Prosecutors, counsellors and religious leaders in Brooklyn banded together last year to form a program to combat sexual abuse in the community. A hot line was established where victims can call and speak with a “culturally sensitive” social worker.
As the manhunt continued for the Brooklyn rabbi, one of his sons was charged with a series of sickening attacks — and ordered to stay away from his underage victims.
The 24-year-old son posted $10,000 bail and left Brooklyn Criminal Court Saturday afternoon after he was arraigned on charges of sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
He was dressed in traditional Orthodox garb, made eye contact with the judge and simply uttered “Yes” when asked if he understood the charges — which are both misdemeanors — and the restraining order. He was instructed to not contact his 13- and 16-year-old victims and his passport was taken in an attempt to prevent him from fleeing the country.
He refused to speak with reporters outside the courtroom.
Please explain this to me. If he was legaly blind, how could he be a teacher???? Voos titzech do?
This is a shocking’ sick story. I hope the leaders the comunity deal with it, rather than sweep it under the already crowded rug. For all you rabbis that know why gd punnishes us, doesnt send rain etc, maybe this is the real reason.
These type of perpetrators are despicable; it is bad enough when we hear of gentiles committing these crimes. No punishment is enough for them!
The good news is that the co-worker at the school did the RIGHT thing.
Assuming he engaged in these horrific crimes: Is it possible that this principal only abused his family members and no one else? I doubt it.
There have been hundreds if not thousands of our children who have been physically and sexually abused.
Maybe it’s time for private schools, such as yeshivas, to institute the criminal background checks now required by NY State law, which may help weed out criminals, including those convicted of crimes against children, from our schools.
Maybe it’s time for our administrators and schools to teach about ‘hygiene’ and safety to our children, as occurs in public schools.
Maybe it’s time for all of us to heed to ruling of Rabbi Elyashiv, i.e. that suspicions of abuse have to be immediately reported to the police for investigation.
Maybe it’s time that we support the victims of abuse rather than accuse them and their families of ruining lives.
Maybe it’s time we hear rabbis talk openly, from the pulpit, about domestic violence, mental illness, child abuse, and more.
We as a community need to become more educated and more proactive.
We don’t need platitudes and lip service. We need change, fundamental change, to protect our children.
I would put the mother in jail along with the other molesters. Kids should be taught early at school and at home to talk to someone immediately if they feel uncomfortable about any conduct. And if it happens at home you talk to the teacher. Reporting it at 20 shows a lack of education.
Can someone tell me why out of all the countries these father and son suspects fled to Israel? Why not to Canada, Mexico, Italy, Spain—why Israel? Do we then scream our lungs out and accuse U.S. government officials of antisemitism when they assume that Jewish suspects are automatic flight risk to Israel? These stories are just the tip of the iceberg. Once rabbis will allow their communities to go to the proper authorities if they are abused, then we will have our own Catholic church abuse scandal firestorm.
“The 58-year-old father and his 21-year-old son fled to Israel two days ago and are wanted for questioning in the case, police said. They were apparently driven to the airport by the mother”.
I do wish you Americans would stop regarding the State of Israel as a dumping ground for all of your human garbage. Israel is NOT a modern-day ‘ir miklat’ and the sooner you people realise it the better it will be for all Jews.
Deal with your own tinofet at home. We definitely will not pay out a single agora to support your lowlife relations.
How do they hide the identity of these people? Maybe there are other victims or is it possible that they will victimize others now that they are on the lame and the brothers that were released on bail?!
I have connected to people I know in Israel to alert them to the case and to keep an eye out and publicize this rashah and his son. It will be kiddush hashem when goyim see that Jews bring such chazerim to justice as quickly as possible. We have to wash our dirty laundry in public because the shmootz is already out there. Now the only question is whether we are OK with the shmutz or we insist on biur chometz and ubiartem es haraah mekirbechah.
We owe a great debt of thanks to the woman who brought the matter to the police or protective services. Maybe some of the girls in that home were protected from the abuse starting and others will finally have an end to their torture.
I encourage all of you to encourage your rabbonim to come out strongly in support of those helped save those poor tortured girls from even further violation. Ask your rabbonim to make it clear that such abusers are rodfim and their is chiyuv to act as quickly as possible to get the police to step in.
Any Rav or Rebbe who distorts the halachos of mesirah to discourage reporting is a choteh umachti who is guilty of lo taamod al dam reachah.
what is your point? How about you reiterate where you inferred that WE AMERICANS are somehow SENDING OVER those you speak of? And by the way – if you are unaware, American suspects who run off to Israel CAN and HAVE BEEN extradited back to America. Secondly – this man was not tried or convicted yet so he can not be referred to as a felon and he in fact ran off BEFORE he was even arrested, so he was not a fugitive. If you feel that a law pertains to this man that would keep Israel from allowing him entrance – why don’t you take that up with Israel. The point of my comment is why are you suggesting that FELLOW AMERICANS tend to SEND OVER trash to Israel???
Maricopa County in Arizona is heavily Mormon, ergo heavily religious. It’s also historically has had some of the highest rates of incest in the country. There is a link between religious suppression and moral degradation. For Jews, being religious without true yiras chet and yiras shamoyim is an invitation to terrible consequences. I’ve lived close among religious Christians, religious Muslims, and religious Jews. The pattern repeats itself without discrimination. We’re not better because we’re frum; we’re only better at hiding and running. Time to get honest to G-d.
The law of return shouldn’t make a difference. Even if they were already Israeli citizens that committed felonies in the U.S. they would be deported to stand trial.
Dr. Zacharowicz,
You misquote Rav Eliyashiv in a very serious way. And that’s where many serious bnei Toah abhor the approach of “child advocates.”
Rav Eliyashiv’s Teshuvah makes is VERY clear that suspicions of abuse MAY NOT be reported, only proven abuse.
I’ve been invloved in putting pedophiles away, and in ensuring that they stay in prison. But responsibly.
If I raped my daughter with some help from my boys, my wife would kill me, not drive me to the airport and wish my bon voyage.
She should have driven to the police station instead.
when i was young i thought all beard wearing man were pious, but as we age we learn that it is just a mask and we have to judge every person by his own merit, and before we give the benefit of the doubt we have to suspect them as robbers (listim).
like they say buyer beware.
in japanese they can’t pronounce “r” so they say “g” so rabbi is gabbi, there r too many out there with the title rabbi like elior chen for example, who made them rabbis? by what merrit? what makes someone into a rabbi? his beard?
two points i would make here.israel vis a vis the states in crimes like this comes first.i know of a molester of children who fled from a moshav in the south of israel to the states almost a years ago.charges await him in israel.he still dances in the states.so it seems its a two way street.the secound point is the black wall of silience that the rabbis put up on these matters.all the borough park rabbis who chickened out on the matter of molesters must certainly have a black mark on there soul.there was only one rabbi who stood up against this horror and that was rabbi avigdor miller.
I never thought I’d ever agree with the ultra-liberal/marxist Charlie Hall, but he’s right on this one (post#34.)
By the way, the school is closed for Chanukah, that’s why no one answered yesterday. I know this because students there are boarders in my house. I am in a state of shock & so are my boarders. They just came in from a Chanukah party & as I was typing a post (now deleted) they started to tell me all about it.
This school charges parents over $25,000 a year . It’s supposed to be a top-notch school for boys with learning disabilities, but from what I’ve seen on videos they took on their phones I would rather have my kids home than send them to this place. The boys tell me that this Rabbi X is a “talmud chacham”, given to long & deep Divrei Torah. I am just stunned by it all. I wonder if there’s a school for them to go back to on Tuesday.
According to the students, this principal signed over all his rights to the school recently to the assistant principal, who is by all accounts a very respectable & responsible person. I feel sorry for all the staff who now have to pick up the pieces. This horror affects more than just these monsters’ poor children.
Continuing my post (students in my home) : as a teacher I’ve had to deal with cases of child abuse, even from frum family members. I had a student whose father was molesting her on a daily basis (mom was in denial.) My sister has dealt with so many cases the authorities consider her an expert witness on abuse in Jewish homes.
This is the worst I have ever read about, although it is not the first one of multiple incest that has come to my attention. At least these children have a hope of getting some help, although I’m not sure if they would ever fully recover.
If victims don’t come forward, abuse will continue in the next generation. I only hope this nightmare will encourage other victims of abuse to come forward, whether the abusers are teachers, doctors, family members or whoever. AND WE MUST BELIEVE THEM! We can’t say the accused are frum, therefore they’re innocent.
Children aren’t that smart. They describe acts they can only have experienced. When are you do-gooders going to wake up & admit we have a cancer amongst us & it must be cut out! We must stop sheltering these monsters & refusing to report. We can’t & mustn’t deal with sexual abuse in-house. It’s too late for that.
“Assuming he engaged in these horrific crimes: Is it possible that this principal only abused his family members and no one else? I doubt it.” (comment #7 ). Actually, while some pedophiles abuse indiscriminately, there are many abusers who destroy their own family members, while never touching outsiders. They have distorted the idea that this is “their” child in a terrible, exploitative way.
While it may be a good idea for yeshivas to institute criminal background checks, this would not catch the majority of abusers, who, r”l, have never even been reported. Education, and support from the rabbonim, is the essential answer. Boruch Hashem that the one girl had the courage to disclose the abuse to her coworker (it must have been terrifying), and that the coworker had the courage to act.
#42 Leahle – are you agreeing or disagreeing with me then? Kids needs to be inculcated yearly at school and at home from an early age according to their level, (it doesnt have to be for may hours) that they should never have to feel uncomfortable and that other people shouldn’t be touching them if they don’t want to be touched and if it does happen, then they should talk to a teacher or parent depending on the offender. It’s not really very complicated.
To Mr. Chaim Ben-Yehuda-#14- I’m really surprised that you would write such a provocative, defamatory post, full of such hate, inferences and innuendoes. The fact of the matter, is that over the last 60 years, the USA, has taken in hundreds of thousands of Israelis, who have chosen to live in the USA. While the vast majority of them have been fine, upstanding citizens, a small percentage have been deviants, engaged in various criminal enterprises. EY has extradited Americans who have gone to Israel to escape criminal prosecution, and vice-versa. Deviants, whether they are pedophiles, white collar criminals, violent criminals, or drug dealers, exist on both sides of the Atlantic, and are of all relgious backgrounds. Therefore, kindly end this ridiculous stereotyping (i.e. “You Americans”).
To #35 (“Clarification”):
1) You claim I quoted Rabbi Elyashiv. I did not quote Rabbi Elyashiv, and that Rabbi Elyashiv prohits informing the police of suspicions that one has committed child sexual abuse. My understanding is he did not want reporting based on mere speculation, which one could argue is certainly not the case here.
2) I would be happy to accompany you to discuss this in person with Rabbi Elyashiv.
Since you say you have been involved in putting people away “responsibly,” you should jump at this opportunity.
4) You can also accompany me to discuss this with many other authorities, with whom I have spoken directly, who require one to inform the authorities when suspicions that go beyond mere speculation exist. Some of these are Rabbi Elyashiv’s relatives and talmidim.
There are a myriad of other rabbinic authorities who require reporting.
Also, many professionals are mandated reporters.
We are living in a country blessed with laws that protect our children.
We are living in a sub-culture that is being portrayed in the outside media, which is read by tens of millions of people, as covering up for and protecting child molesters.
Hope that clarifies.
We still have a chance to be a light to other nations by showing that we courageously report the dangerous people in our midst, and by making the safety of our children a clear priority. All of our children need to be taught annually about personal safety. It is essential for children to know that most predators are people known to them – family or neighbors – and they need to learn “how to get away and tell today.” We must learn to report these dangerous people to child protective services or the sexual abuse units of police departments as soon as possible. For support from experienced volunteers in making these difficult reports, the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children can be contacted through their website at http://www.jewishadvocates.org.
I thank #60 for supporting my earlier comments in Post #54 . Regarding post No. 57 (GB Jew), I responded from a post from “Chaim Ben-Yehuda” (#14). If in fact, the GB Jew and Chaim Ben-Yehuda are the same person, he should say so, and stop using two different pseudonyms. One area where the GB Jew, alias Chaim Ben-Yehuda, have been consistent, is in the area of bashing the USA, and our culture. He seems to delight in doing that. It is really a shanda!