Lakewood Yeshiva Implicated In Witness Tampering In Child Sexual Abuse Case

The case in question involves Yosef Kolko, 33, a Lakewood Yeshiva teacher and camp counselor who is accused of sexually abusing a boy under 13 in the summers between 2007 and 2009. Kolko faces several serious charges including aggravated sexual assault that could send him to prison for up to 60 years.

Witness tampering charged in abuse case

Beis Medrash Govoha implicated in preventing police from following up sexual abuser

by Michael Orbach • The Jewish Star

In a tight-knit, some say insular, community, social pressure can go a long way. Many cases of suspected child abuse in the Orthodox world have been tainted by suspicions of witness tampering. Now, in a landmark New Jersey case, a Lakewood man is accused of trying to pressure the father of a young victim to not testify in his son’s case. Shaul Luban, 31, could face five years behind bars.

“This sends a message to the Lakewood Charedi community that those who abuse children- including the intimidation of victims and their families-  will be prosecuted,” said Ben Hirsch, the president of Survivors for Justice, an organization that advocates on behalf of victims of sexual abuse inside the Jewish community. “Clearly not everyone in the Lakewood Yeshiva community has gotten the message.”

And in at least one instance, it seems, the message went to the wrong person.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s office says that Luban sent out text messages urging residents of Lakewood to try to pressure an alleged victim’s father into not testifying. A non-Jewish college student received one of those texts, according to prosecutors, and when she called the number she was told that she should forget ever having received it. The girl called the police, the text message was retrieved and it is being used as evidence against Luban.

The case in question involves Yosef Kolko, 33, a Lakewood Yeshiva teacher and camp counselor who is accused of sexually abusing a boy under 13 in the summers between 2007 and 2009. Kolko faces several serious charges including aggravated sexual assault that could send him to prison for up to 60 years.

“The victim’s family has received a tremendous amount of pressure not to go forward,” explained Laura Pierro, an Ocean County assistant district attorney who is prosecuting the case.

In October of 2009, in an unrelated sexual abuse case involving an Orthodox defendant, a New York State Supreme Court judge criticized what he called, “a communal attitude that seems to impose greater opprobrium on the victims than the perpetrator.”

Judge Gustin Reichbach, according to an account in The Jewish Week, said that he found it “troubling” that the Orthodox community “seeks to blame, indeed punish, victims who seek justice from the … civil society.”

“The erroneous belief that incidents of abuse can be resolved within the community results in the problem exacerbating,” said Hirsch. “We urge Lakewood’s Charedi leadership to make it clear that both halacha and secular law mandate all incidences of childhood sexual abuse be reported directly to the police. They’re the only ones who can deal with this issue.”

The charges against Kolko seem to have hit a nerve in Lakewood. A flier distributed in the New Jersey town last Wednesday that was provided to The Jewish Star names the alleged victim’s father in the headline and states that he “makes a mockery of the Torah.”

The father, dubbed “Harav HaMosser” (the rabbi, the informer) went to the police “without going to a beis din and without the Haskama (permission) of any” rabbi and proceeded to press charges even after he was approached by prominent members of Beis Medrash Govoha, the famous yeshiva founded by Rav Aharon Kotler, zt”l.

“The ground in Lakewood should be shaking by your reaction…” said the unsigned letter, which named the victim of the alleged abuse. “Surely Shamaim (heaven) is shaking over the Chilul Hashem Hanorah (the clear desecration of G-d’s name).”

The letter was a “crime and should be treated as such,” Hirsch said.

According to someone who is close to both defendants, Luban was simply trying to help his friend Kolko.

“He didn’t know he was doing anything illegal; it was totally innocuous,” the person said. When the police first came to talk with him, the person said, Luban admitted his involvement.

“They took notes about everything he said and they’re charging him,” the person said. “It’s a sad story. He has to come up with $10-20,000 to defend himself. He’s a regular guy. He’s a little modern for Lakewood. He’s going to school now and he’s working. He’s like a Five Towns-type of guy.”

“It’s not your typical child molester story, there’s absolutely no shred of evidence about anything,” the person claimed. “Kolko has been in education his entire life – he was a camp counselor, a Pirchei leader, an English teacher, a Hebrew teacher – and no one came forward. He’s in this business for 18 years. You can be sure that yeshivas do their own investigation.”

Other factors are at play in Kolko’s prosecution, the person claimed, including the fact that he is unmarried and that his uncle is Yehuda Kolko, a longtime teacher at Brooklyn’s Yeshiva Torah Temimah, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to multiple counts of child endangerment, and is suspected of molesting dozens of children over his 40-year tenure at the school.

“Because of his uncle, should [Kolko] have to sit in jail?” the person asked.

He also faulted the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office.

“Prosecutors around here they dislike the fact that frum people deal with their problems among themselves and they don’t bring their problems to the secular authorities,” the person asserted. “For the first time somebody turned over someone to prosecution, [so] you have an anxious prosecutor who penetrated the black wall of silence. She’s the first one to have an Orthodox Jew testifying against an Orthodox Jew. They’re going to have a great time. It’s unfortunate that this person [Kolko] should have to suffer.”

Pierro, the assistant district attorney, disagreed.

“I think that the community is leery because they’re being exposed to a certain extent. This is not meant to be an exposure of the chasidic community,” Pierro said. “This is about one particular family’s desire to receive justice for their son.”

Comments

[Robert Wisler]

And these same Jews will whine and fake-weep and try to be "God's children -- the descendents of Avraham, Yitzchok, and Ya'akov -- on Tisha B'av. And the Jews expect God to allow the Messiah to come?

[blair thomas]

So BMG has been "implicated" because an annon flyer has been circulated that claims that unnamed "prominent members" approached the victims father???

What about the fact (that you are obviously oblivious to) that Rabbi S, the alleged victims father, is himself a staff member of BMG, and that high ranking members of BMG staff (rabbis) told him to go to the police? What about the fact that it has been a year since the initial arrest, & the father still retains his position in BMG as one of the Rabbis in charge of admissions?

Just because these self proclaimed advocates, whom, while doing a lot of good, still obviously have a bone to pick with the Hareidi world, say it is so, doesn't make it true.

[blair thomas]

So BMG has been "implicated" because an annon flyer has been circulated that claims that unnamed "prominent members" approached the victims father???

What about the fact (that you are obviously oblivious to) that Rabbi S, the alleged victims father, is himself a staff member of BMG, and that high ranking members of BMG staff (rabbis) told him to go to the police? What about the fact that it has been a year since the initial arrest, & the father still retains his position in BMG as one of the Rabbis in charge of admissions?

Just because these self proclaimed advocates, whom, while doing a lot of good, still obviously have a bone to pick with the Hareidi world, say it is so, doesn't make it true.

[chaim]

how many cover ups that get busted and make the orthodox look even worse is it going to take before these idiots stop causing chilulei hashem by trying to prevent it? it would be a far lesser chilul if they would just turn these monsters over when they are discovered and not get implicated in amoral coverups.

[blair thomas]

Sorry about the double post, PDA issues...

[i'm from missouri]

COuld someone please explain to me how a beth din would punish someone found guilty of sexual abuse of children? Or is the standard of proof required impossible to attain resulting in certain exoneration?

[BMS]

This is not meant to be an exposure of the chasidic community,” Pierro said. BMG Chassidic. They should get theit facts straight.

[Chicago Sam]

Just another example of how Haredi and Orthodox Judaism are "thriving" in our country today.

[avraham]

To answer the question how a beit din would deal with this--there is no semicha any more so the type of laws a non semicha beit din can deal with are very limited.
Since most orthodox rabbis are frauds, the only real option to deal with such a case would be to go to a rosh yeshiva that actually has spent real time and effort on the talmud. My thinking is this would be a shat hedechak and for the sake of the spirutual and mental health of klal israel i would take him and all his buddies and stone them

[Had Enuff]

Avaraham Wrote: "To answer the question how a beit din would deal with this..."(someone found guilty of sexual abuse of children)"...the only real option to deal with such a case would be to go to a rosh yeshiva"

A better option would be for him to stop by and say hello to the business end of my double barrel shotgun!

[Jewish Cynic]

"What about the fact (that you are obviously oblivious to) that Rabbi S, the alleged victims father, is himself a staff member of BMG, and that high ranking members of BMG staff (rabbis) told him to go to the police? "

Hope you are right and this is true.
Still, the leaders of BMG/Lakewood need to state that publicly and denounce the attack on the victim's father.
My cynical side wonders if perhaps the BMG biggies let the victim's father go to the police because he was one of their pals.

Pedos like Kolko rely on the community hiding their crimes.
This is not a matter of Chillul hashem, it's mesiras nefesh.

[steve]

COuld someone please explain to me how a beth din would punish someone found guilty of sexual abuse of children?

Think if the Taliban were still in power in Afghanistan how they would punish Osama Bin Laden. After the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban government offered Bush to try Bin Laden in Afghanistan. What a joke!

As for BMG being implicated, I can guarantee you that those fliers and text messages were not the ideas of independent individuals. It is well known that several rabbis were distraught when Kolko Jr. was arrested. There is a big machloikes among the rabbonim within BMG itself whether the victim's family did the right thing. Many still feel that the child molesters should be allowed to continue to molest children at will. The "bais din" will eventually deal with them. The insanity continues!

[seymour]

a bais din will protect the molester and harass the victim they have been doing that for many years.

In their logic it is better to protect the myth that these things do not happen here than protecting children

or send the molester to Israel to live and hide his identity

[Witness]

My cynical side wonders if perhaps the BMG biggies let the victim's father go to the police because he was one of their pals.
===========================================

Yes, Kolko Jr. mistake was to go after a child from powerful family. Molesters in the Haredi society like to go after children of not powerful and not connected families.

One of the most common prey for molesters are children of Haredi converts because they know that the parents (converts) will never go to the authorities because if they do Tropper and his ilk will revoke their conversion.

[David]

On molesting cases go directly to the secular authorities, do not pass the rabbis, and do not collect $200.

[state of disgust]

"... how a beth din would punish someone found guilty of sexual abuse of children?"

They could always stone the bastard.

[Chicago Sam]

State of Disgust: Good comments, except we would have to also stone the rabbis who helped the victimizer for they refused to stand up for the rights of the victim.

One could only imagine what the biblical prophets would be saying if they were alive today. . .

Sacrificing children to Molech, or for that matter, for the preservation of the Lakewood Yeshiva is equally reprehensible.

[Nigritude Ultramarine]

COuld someone please explain to me how a beth din would punish someone found guilty of sexual abuse of children?

Here in Chicago, it will cost you $250 an hour for three "rabbis" to lend their "expertise" to a case. Unless you are rich or have photos of your adversary in a threesome with Leib Tropper, you are doomed.

[Menachem Mendel lll]

Mazel Tov to Yosef deh kurvehnik age 33 and his entire family on his simcha.

May he in the future B"H enjoy hard, thick and black uncircumsized dick from the shvartz brotherhood in prison.

Hard, thick n' black dick is a nice desert after a koosha jailhouse meal and berkat hamzon.

I finally understand why these frummie criminals are the frist to say: We want the Moschiach now.

You bet his does even though is is not a Chabadnik.

[MalachHamovies]

May he in the future B"H enjoy hard, thick and black uncircumsized dick from the shvartz brotherhood in prison.

Hard, thick n' black dick is a nice desert after a koosha jailhouse meal and berkat hamzon.

You do not have to show your racist disgusting side. Do you have the guts to say all of this crap to a black man ? I don't think so.

[Menachem Mendel lll]

I'm not racist.

Black men to their credit have bigger dicks than most shriviled up yiddelach.

I wish on this Mr. Yeshiva exactly what he did to an innoncent children as Hillel would have wanted it. No more No less.

The problem is that it would be an insult to a Black man to shove his hard meat up his dirty frum hole.

The Abishter will find a way....

[Rachel Lev fan]

Another one bites the dust! :)

Thank you, Rachel Lev, for your guidance.

[Chicago Sam]

MM III, your message is pretty disgusting. I am sure the racists of the world would probably agree with you. Gevalt, you and the KKK have a lot in common.

[disgusted]

Why even bother putting him on trial? Why waste the money and time? All the experts commenting here know he is guilty. You guys are really the lowest of the low. Is there a 50% chance in your minds that he didn't do it? How about a 20% chance or even a 1% chance? I hope that if any of you are accused of a crime the jury will be as fair and open minded as you are.
Disgusting.

[HaNavon]

There is ample evidence that the "gedolim" have known about these crimes for decades and have done NOTHING to stop it!
What needs to happen is for the FBI to take mattisyahu solomon out in hand cuffs!

[NotHarold]

The worst sex abuse with these Hasidgoyim is the teen on teen crap. Ask around....the 15 year olds mess with the 12 year olds. The chabadgoyim in charge have some 'splaining to do.

Could it be that the hasidic thing is just a structure to shelter various kinds of perverts who wanna breed while continuing their perversions?

[seymour]

disgusted
\
just the opposite we think he should go on trail to see if he is guilty or not

the frum do not care if he is a molester they rather have a molester molest more kids than going to goyish court

[Christopher St Lawrence]

Please send Shaul to New Square, we could use upstanding men like him.

[steve]

Disgusted,

I am more disgusted than you. Yossi Kolko has been a known molester to the community for years now, just like his uncle Yudi. You will see more and more victims now coming out of the closet. What's more disgusting is that some in the Lakewood community are still trying to protect and enable him. The victim has no reason to lie and label himself for life as damaged goods. It was heroic of him and his family to do the right thing by going to the police. They have saved countless lives.

[Devorah]

Christopher St Lawrence, I think there are more sexual predators in your district than in the entire world and you're in bed with them all.

[disgusted]

steve, - complete nonsense. There has not been a single other known accusation against him, and he has been in education for over fifteen years. In fact he has over a hundred letters from former students in support of him. The accusation is from a single troubled boy from a highly unstable family. That does not mean that it is not true, but it is certainly not the case that he is a known molester for years.
It is hard to imagine that any jury will find this proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but given how emotionally charged this issue is, juries have a history of finding guilt on the slimmest of evidence.
As for the motivation of the victim, please ask around about his mother's mental state, the other children in the house and the need to find a scapegoat for the obvious difficulties they face. I'm not saying he is lying, I don't know, but I am providing an alternate motivation which could account for pressure on a then 12 year old boy to fabricate a story.

[steve]

You're a liar. I even knew about him before this incident and I don't even live in Lakewood. As for your attacks on the family, shame on you. Change your sn from "disgusted" to "disgusting". Attacking the messenger is the oldest ploy and it never works. Try something else next time.

[disgusted]

That is exactly the job of a Beis Din or a court, to question the credibility of an accuser (who you somehow call a messenger). Thank God it is the 'oldest ploy', when we are trying to put someone in jail for 60 years we better be sure. You can call me a liar but I do live in Lakewood and I am unfortunately involved in these issues and no one except you seems to have heard of prior accusations.
You're just another one saying lets lynch anyone ever accused. You better be careful, the way things are going you might be next, all it takes is a disgruntled ex-wife or student, or a paranoid mother who reads too many blogs. In Lakewood we have seen this scenario too many times (as well, unfortunately, as actual molestation).
When another Jew is being accused of such a serious things we need to investigate fairly and thoroughly and not jump to conclusions. If you are not in a position to investigate, leave it to those who are before jumping to conclusions.

[Menachem Mendel lll]

MM III, your message is pretty disgusting. I am sure the racists of the world would probably agree with you. Gevalt, you and the KKK have a lot in common.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Screw you asshole.
You are a moron.
Next time don't forget to compare me to Hilter, Stalin, Mao and your mother in law.

I am commenting on this 33 year old Hebraic Kurvenik who loves using his hard circumsized peni on innocent little boys and afterwards say the bracha on:
Al ha'kol shyotzeh.

Nice.
Very nice.

[steve]

If you are not in a position to investigate, leave it to those who are

Exactly. That's why victims go to the police and they did the right thing here. The beis din is in no position to investigate these matters. Just ask the rabbonim of Baltimore who signed a mea culpa letter which urges victims to go to the police. And that is why Rav Mattisyahu Salomon disbanded such as beis din in Lakewood.

[disgusted]

I disagree that a Beis Din is in theory not in a position to investigate. Before handing someone over to secular authorities halacha mandates that a Beis Din be satisfied that the accused is very likely guilty. Otherwise, unless there is an immediate danger to life it is nothing other than mesirah according to the major poskim who have addressed the issue. It may not be a politically correct position but it is widely held to be the correct halacha.
There is a separate, technical, problem that some Batei Dinim are manned by second raters who are can't handle the task of investigation. That was the case in the Lakewood Beis Din which was closed down. That Beis Din actually had a very open policy that everyone they came across was guilty, a policy which led to several mistakes, following which they were closed down several times, until one high profile case which was the nail in their coffin.
I agree that the police will need to be involved in many cases but there is a need for a Beis Din to perform some basic preliminary investigation before giving a heter to go to the police. I know of a case, centered around an accusation of a single instance where the accused was verified to be nowhere near the scene. Handing such a person over to the police would have been outright mesirah, even if he would have eventually been exonerated. In this day and age the halacha of mesirah may seem to some here as an anachronism but it is still a halacha that frum Jews consider themselves bound to, and thus for many it still evokes a profound repulsion (as does of course the sexual molestation of children).

[Joe]

The fact that Kolko's therapist told the police that he admitted this in sessionn sealed it for the police.

[eli]

joe that is total b.s. he never admitted a thing! besides, thetherapist is bound by patient confidentiality not to say anything so your story is obviously MADE UP!!!!!

[Menachem Mendel lll]

@ eli

You are a stupid fool.

Stop scratching you scrotum.
Go to school, stop pertending you know things and get the help that you need.

[Open minded]

BS"D
"COuld someone please explain to me how a beth din would punish someone found guilty of sexual abuse of children? Or is the standard of proof required impossible to attain resulting in certain exoneration?"

The main concern of a beis din would be if there is truth to the story - especially whether or not there is a possibility that an innocent man may be falsely charged and punished for something he did not do, an unfortunate reality in today's justice system and one that we cannot allow to happen regardless of the legal consequences.
Should they find that there is truth to the story, there is no current Jewish punishment system for this type of crime so the the main issue would be the safety of the community. Contrary to popular belief, most rabbis would support and recommend turning the perpetrator over to the legal authorities so that he can be locked up or treated as the court and psychological professionals see fit.

[YOSSELE HAGOILEM]

is the name luban or lubin??