Melzer Guilty In Teen Sex Case

Former yeshiva Basketball coach enters guilty plea, faces possible three years in prison.

BREAKING: Melzer Pleads Guilty in Teen Sex Case
NY Jewish Week Staff Report

Adam Melzer, the 35-year-old former yeshiva basketball coach charged last summer with child endangerment, pled guilty in a court appearance in Hackensack, NJ on June 3.

A married father and member of the Orthodox community in Teaneck, Melzer was accused of persuading teenage boys whom he coached at a local day school to take naked pictures of themselves several years ago and give the photos to him.

Four youngsters in the community contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and the Teaneck Police Department last summer, leading to Melzer's arrest. Officials believe that more than a dozen teens from the community took part in or knew of the photo requests, but have not come forward to avoid stigma and unwanted publicity.

Melzer maintained his innocence at the time of his arrest. But on Wednesday, according to Kenneth Ralph, assistant prosecutor in Bergen County, Melzer pled guilty to four counts of endangering the welfare of children. He will be evaluated as a sex offender before sentencing, scheduled for Aug. 28.

Depending on the outcome, Melzer could be sentenced to up to three years in prison or placed on supervised parole for life.

Sources close to the case say that Melzer made a pornographic video with an underage girl and two teenage boys from the community having consensual sex. In court, he admitting "obtaining and showing" a pornographic video to at least one minor, Ralph said.

Melzer is a member of Cong. Beth Abraham in Bergenfield, but after being snubbed there, according to sources, has been attending Cong. Bnai Jeshurun, another Orthodox synagogue, in nearby Teaneck.

Some community members are calling for local rabbis to put Melzer in cherem - a form of religious ostracism - that would not allow him to be a member of a synagogue or be called to the Torah.

Benjamin Brafman, an attorney for Melzer, said he is “hopeful that Adam’s community will ultimately extend the same compassion and understanding towards Adam that the prosecution and the Court already have.”

Brafman said the disposition of the case, allowing for a suspended sentence, was “in the best interest of all parties.”

He described Melzer as “a fundamentally decent young man” who “clearly has some personal issues to deal with,” adding that “the appropriate remedy is treatment, not incarceration.”

[Hat Tip: Joel Katz.]

Comments

[Robert W. Welch Jr.]

Shame on you, Ben Brafman!

Is there any thief, molester or murderer that you won't defend for your $25k up front retainer plus $600+ an hour?

[Robert W. Welch Jr.]

And if the stories about modern ortho swinging at Teaneck's BJ are true, this is just another day's work in cover ups for Rabbi Steve Pruzansky.

[Radical Feminist]

Unfortunately, in the case of molesters, abuse usually begins with child porn, such as the taking of photos, or explicit voyerism, before escalating to more severe acts of abuse. In the case of Melzer, he will be free in three years, having recieved no treatment whatsoever, and probably even more dangerous then before.

[Sean]

This video information is new. He is more then a sicko who likes looking at child porn, he is a child pimp.

He should rot in jail.

[MisterApikoros]

Melzer is as much entitled to legal representation as anyone else.

It's in the Constitution, right in the Bill of Rights, which you and both your namesakes would have overturned if you could.

[Isa]

???
Here is some 'molester' that has direct contact with victims although there is no physical force used and ONLY gets three years.

Then I read of some slob who has no contact with victims but 'just' downloads the child porn from the Internet and is more heavily sentenced.

[honestlyfrum]

The rabbonim in Teaneck should be commended for how they handled this case. It was not brushed under the carpet, the authorities were brought in right away and he was given not kavod in any shul. He is a sick guy and our hearts should go out to his family.

[ofcourse]

if you're honestly frum than you would realize that sensationalism, prosecution and incarceration accomplishes nothing but
ruins peoples' lives -- psychological help is the necessary outcome of such an act and nothing more. A sick individual's family should not be dragged along (why ruin their lives too?)especially if that individual has done lots of good in the community as well. If your heart goes out to the family then this ordeal could have been handled privately instead of publicly.

[Honestlyfrum]

It was handled publicly so that the school could come forward and tell parents that there is a problem and they are dealing with it. I, personally, want to know when soomething like this happens in the school I send my kids to so that I can safeguard them. Although there needs to be sensitivity towards the person's family there needs to be sensitivity towards the victims as well and they should not be vilified for coming forward. Doing it publicly shows our kids that we take their lives and well being seriously and that if something like this, G-d forbid, happens again they should not be affraid to come forward becuase as a community we will work as hard as we can to protect our children, which at the end of the day comes before any other issue. Covering it up and handling it quietly was tried for too many years and look how that turned out. Our kids saftly comes first, period end of discussion.

[Anon]

"Ofcourse", I find your comment that this should have been handled quietly to be downright repulsive and dangerous. How would our community know to protect our children from him if this was handled quietly? What would prevent him from moving to another community and doing the same thing if this was handled quietly?

[Sanjaya]

Robert W. Welch Jr., Ben was charging more than 600/hr. circa 1998 when he was defending Peter Gatien, $1,000+/hr. is probably more like it. But I don't think Ben represented Adam for the money or the publicity, I think he did it as a favor to Adam's family who he has been friends with for many years - and if that is the case, I admire his loyalty to his friends.

Mister Apikoros, nobody thinks that Adam isn't entitled to a vigorous defense, but there are plenty other lawyers out there who are not a part of the Jewish community who would have been more than happy to fill that role, and if there weren't, there's always the public defender. Again, though, if Ben was motivated by his loyalty to old friends, I can respect that.

As to the sentence, every once in awhile I watch Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" which is a show about sting operations set up by local police departments to catch people who solicit minors online and then go to what they think is to meet the minors but is really a set-up with the Dateline host waiting to confront them and afterwords to be arrested... Anyway, at the end of the show they tell you what the disposition of the arrested individuals cases are, and typically it is a 3-5 year jail sentence with years of probation and sex-offender registration. That is the sentence for someone who only solicited online and showed up someplace with the intent of lude and lascivious conduct with a minor...they never got to the point of actually taking pictures or videos or touching anyone. So it seems like Ben has done a good job for his client.

I feel bad for the victims in this case, known and unknown, and hope that they will have some closure and be able to move on. I also hope that Adam gets the help he clearly needs.

[Hadenough]

ben is a decent man--very good friends with the family involved--for sure was acting as a friend of a FAMILY in need.be that as it may-this molester should be put away a long time for abusing his responsibility as a role model(ha)to his team.

[radical feminist]

..psychological help is the necessary outcome of such an act and nothing more.

There is zero evidence that therapy works to cure pedophilia. However imprisonment insures the safety of the community from possible abuse.

[Someone who really knows]

He has in fact done more bad then good. Pretending to be a coach who cares with a hidden agenda of power and perversion. Claiming to be a sex educator and halachic advisor for newlyweds, with a hidden agenda of finding out graphic details of their sex lives for his own pleasure (hundreds of victims). Collecting thousands of photographs of teenagers in various states of dress and undress, and convincing kids to get them for him for FOURTEEN YEARS! Lying at whatever cost to cover up his schemes and machinations. This man is psycopathic with multiple personalies. he deserves all and everything that is coming to him and should be jailed!

Convincing kids to do terrible deviant things, and exposing them to things that they never would have seen if not for his guidance. Taking in kids as a father figure so that he can control and mess with their lives. Not sparing anybody, even his closest friends and family. Destroying the lives of his own children and family with such "great" publicity.

[anony]

radical feminist there is no cure for pedophilia just like there's no cure for alchoholism but there are facilities for both to control these addictions

[a kid]

some of us were drawn toward adam bc our own fathers didnt' measure up or were abusive so should we lock our own fathers up I guess we can't do that so treatment vs. lockup forAdam. sex, drugs, food, alcoholism are all addictions and can be treated

[myheadsonstraight]

Adam's children and wife are also victims. He has ruined their lives to pursue this sick behavior. I know them all and feel just as bad for his children as for the teenagers he abused.
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky kicked Adam Melzer out of CBY as soon as the news of his guilty plea became known. Trust me their is NO support of Melzer from this Rabbi, or any others that I know of.
The Teaneck Rabbonim have handled this issue openly and honestly. This is a model of how religious leaders should deal with pedophiles in their community.
Unfortunately several of our peers were very vigorous in defending Adam. They suggested that the parents made up the story to get back at Adam for not giving their kids court time during basketball games. It's really sad when normally intelligent people come up with such pathetic excuses to defend a man who is clearly up to no good.
Adam is still out and about in Teaneck. At his kids' baseball games, at the library, etc. Sick eh?

[a kid]

no it's not sick b/c he hasn't been evaluated yet so hopefully he's getting therapeutic help in the meantime you don't want the kids suffering