Sex Charges Against Phoenix Rabbi Dismissed

"The D.A.’s highly unusual step of moving to dismiss an indicted case speaks highly of the Office’s professionalism and quest for justice.”

Sex Charges against Rabbi Dismissed Reported by Rabbi’s Counsel Alan Lewis and Michael Shapiro
Press Conference to be held today at 4 p.m.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Attorneys Alan Lewis and Michael Shapiro, partners at Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP, today announced the dismissal of all charges against their client, Rabbi Bryan Bramly. This morning in State Supreme Court, Justice Rena Uviller granted a request made by Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, Jr., that the grand jury indictment against Rabbi Bramly be dismissed.

Rabbi Bramly, the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona, had been charged in March of this year with having sexual contact with a then seven-year old girl (a friend of the Rabbi’s daughter) in the year 2000 when the Rabbi was in rabbinical school in New York. Following his arrest in Arizona, the Rabbi voluntarily returned to New York to fight the charges and was immediately released on bail. Upon his arrival in New York, Rabbi Bramly took and passed a polygraph examination arranged by his attorneys and administered by a retired FBI polygraph expert with 30 years of experience.

Rabbi Bramly and his lawyers commend District Attorney Vance and his assistants for their willingness to re-examine all of the evidence that pointed to the Rabbi’s innocence. Alan Lewis says, “Mr. Vance’s open-mindedness and reappraisal of the evidence is in the highest tradition of the Manhattan D.A.’s Office.” Michael Shapiro adds that “the D.A.’s highly unusual step of moving to dismiss an indicted case speaks highly of the Office’s professionalism and quest for justice.”

Rabbi Bryan Bramly, accompanied by his lawyers, Alan Lewis and Michael Shapiro will be responding to questions at a press conference at the offices of Carter Ledyard & Milburn, 2 Wall Street, at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.

Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP maintains one of New York's longest continuing legal practices. For the past 156 years, from its home on Wall Street and with offices in Washington , DC, it has been engaged in the general practice of law concentrating in commercial law and private client services.

Comments

[harold]

Who brought up the charges against him?

[Shmarya]

Who brought up the charges against him?

I'm not sure I understand your question.

[chabadnik attorney]

B"H justice was served. If there wasn't physical evidence against him they should have never filed charges.

[Mr. Apikoros]

This case stank from the get go.

A girl, 10 years after the fact, claimed Rabbi Byran Bramley molested her. Bramley took a lie detector test, which according to his lawyer, totally exonerated him.

This was back in late March. Since then, the media has been extremely quiet about this case, including Shmarya, who never brought it up (he claimed he didn't do so because this was a Conservative rabbi and the Conservative powers-that-be discipline their own, while the Orthodox don't).

The one thing I did read is that he was fired by his synagogue last month. I hope and pray Bramley gets his job AND his reputation back.

[harold]

The one thing I did read is that he was fired by his synagogue last month. I hope and pray Bramley gets his job AND his reputation back

This points to the damage that a charge of sexual abuse can do to someone. I mentioned this in the past as a need for confidentially in cases such as this. The system is infested with the scourge known as the media which is out of control and jumps on stories without any regards to the damage that their story causes.

When, and if, someone is found guilty of sexual abuse then he has earned the scourge of public disgrace, but until then he should not suffer the yoke of guilt. I think (or should I say hope) that the police and the judicial system could be made tight lipped until the process is complete, but the creatures of the media cannot be kept in their cages.

Let us indeed see if he can get his job and reputation back -

We shall see ....

[assist]

Nice to see the system work in the other direct. Not so it would appear with his synagogue.

Harold, I agree he should get his job back his reputation may never be made whole.

[Avi Shafran II]

This is another proof that the powers that be in this country are prejudiced against Orthodox Jews. They let him go because he was Conservative rabbi, if he was an Orthodox rabbi he would be vilified to no end and Shmarya would report on it daily.

Similarly if Rubashkin was a Conservative Jew not an Orthodox one and definitely not a Hassidic one he would be invited to the white house , he would be drinking shnaps with the president and he would be recognized for bringing jobs to the Midwest.

[Mr. Apikoros]

It is very much to Shmarya's credit that he picked up on this story right away, especially since he didn't report on it originally back in late March.

I'm sure if Bramly were Orthodox Shmarya would have also reported on the charges having being dropped, although he probably would have reported on the original story back in late March.

Preliminary oral arguments in the case were scheduled for today, September 15th. That's why the charges were dropped today; I'm sure this was had been in the works for weeks.

Cynicism is not called for here. For people such as myself who followed this story (as well as for Bramly and his family), it's a wonderful present for the New Year.

[wellwishing]

Shmarya

Would you please post the following letter, written and distributed this morning? I received it in my inbox, and thought it deserved prominence, parallel to when the thrashing and trashing in the media took place last April.

With many thanks for posting the news so quickly -

Great News from Rabbi Bramly! It's Over -- Case Dismissed!

Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues,

It is with great joy and hearts full of gratitude to God and to everyone who has stood with me and my family during the past six months, that Laura and I share the following wonderful news:

This morning in the New York County Supreme Court, Justice Rena Uviller, upon an application made by the District Attorney, dismissed all of the charges against me, bringing this six-month nightmare to an end.

In a letter addressed to the judge and my lawyers, the DA’s office clearly stated that their decision was not based on legal, technical or procedural grounds. Rather, that “after further investigation by our office… we have withdrawn all charges in this case.”

As you can imagine, along with celebrating this wonderful news, we are left with many questions. We must point out that no legal authority undertook the kind of investigative work one would expect prior to my arrest at gunpoint in the synagogue parking lot on March 23, 2010. For example, nobody notified me of the existence of an investigation, questioned anyone I’ve worked with over the past ten years, asked me whether I wanted to bring any facts to the attention of the investigative authorities or otherwise considered whether it was appropriate to bring criminal charges based on nothing else than the apparent statement by a 17 year old regarding an alleged event claimed to have occurred ten years earlier. Had the authorities done such an investigation from the get-go, they would have come to the same conclusion they have come to now, and done so before dragging my name through the national and international press, causing tremendous trauma to me, my family and friends, tearing apart our congregation and my career as a rabbi, and throwing us into desperate financial turmoil. These events forever changed my life and the lives of my family.

We owe our deepest gratitude to all of you who have provided valuable advice, love, support, prayers, and contributions to my legal defense fund. For one thing, we have learned that without the money for a proper legal defense, particularly in cases of this sensational kind, the prospects for a just outcome are not high. The DA’s office has bottomless pockets and the individual who made the allegation never had to spend a penny. We cannot emphasize enough the effort that it took on the part of our lawyers to bring us to this point. They did the strategic thinking, and encouraged legal risks – like the one we undertook when I testified to the Grand Jury (something most defense attorneys discourage defendants from doing). They had me take a polygraph administered by one of the toughest polygraphers in the country. They were intuitive, dauntless in their efforts, tireless in their research, and passionate in their determination that I should not become another victim of false and flagrantly fabricated sexual abuse accusations. For all this, Laura and I owe our deepest gratitude to Alan Lewis and Michael Shapiro of Carter Ledyard and Milburn.

To educate ourselves to fight these false accusations, both Laura and I read about many cases in the American legal system involving victims of false accusations of sexual abuse (and we can recommend some books if you are interested). While we believe that the high profile of my case and the manner in which it was handled by various law enforcement agencies is due mainly to the fact that I am clergy, what became clear to us is that this nightmare can descend upon anyone, any parent who happened to host a sleep-over – even one held 10 or 20 years ago. It can happen to any person in any profession, be it teacher, doctor or bus driver. Anyone can be falsely accused of sexual abuse. It is the most potent of charges – the one that brings the TV cameras and the instant glaring headlines. All that is required for a false accusation of sexual abuse to be made is a toxic mix of a person troubled with mental and/or emotional issues and a therapist who reflexively concludes that all present troubles of a client are based on past sexual abuse. No evidence or corroborating evidence is required for charges to be laid, arrests made and lives irreparably damaged – only a statement from the alleged “victim.”

Obviously we are deeply perplexed about these last six months and may never know the answer to the question “why.” However, what truly upsets me is that there are literally hundreds of people in this country – men and women alike – who have been falsely accused of sexual abuse and stand at various points of the legal process. While those who are truly guilty of such crimes should feel the maximum force of the law, there must be a mechanism put in place to ensure that the innocent are not swept up in the same dustpan as the guilty….

So what now? As we learn in Jewish tradition, these days between Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur are days of inner reflection and personal review. The idea is to formulate how we, in partnership with God, are to write ourselves into the Book of Life in this new year. It is clearly sound advice! So, we’re going to take some time to explore “the what might be” and hope that the coming days, weeks and months will bring clarity, opportunity and direction.

Wishing you a sweet, joy-filled and healthy New Year and a safe and meaningful fast,

Rabbi Bryan & Laura Bramly

[Shmarya]

Please.

The actual percentage of false accusations is something like 3%.

I'm sorry Rabbi Bramly was falsely accused. But to act as if the 3% minority the majority is wrong.

And even Rabbi Bramly should know that.

[Adam Neira]

False charges, slander, defamation, libel and similar can do great harm to a person. When someone is exonerted the public domain must be completely expunged of the lies regarding that person.

[Shlomo]

Harold a Rabbi is a public position which a persons accepts willingly and along with the Kovoid that goes with the position there are public responsibilities and risks associated with being one if one has been accused of molesting children to atleast the extent of being seriously investigated by police he should at the very least stand down from his position till the matter is clarified. He chose to be a Rabbi

[harold]

Please.

The actual percentage of false accusations is something like 3%.

I'm sorry Rabbi Bramly was falsely accused. But to act as if the 3% minority the majority is wrong.

And even Rabbi Bramly should know that

To be so cold and not to care even for the 3% is sick. What is so terrible if one can hold back the public vilification of the abuser until after the trial if it can result in saving, yes, even if only 3% of the people, their jobs, reputation and their lives. Is it so important to be able to laugh and make fun of a suspected abuser as opposed to waiting for him to be declared a guilty abuser? You can still have that big laugh only at a later date and with a cleaner conscience.

[Shmarya]

The great thing about you, harold, is that you're too stupid to know how stupid you really are.

The overwhelming majority of accused pedophiles are guilty and the overwhelming number of the guilty will re-offend.

Therefore we have a halakhic obligation both to warn people about them and to prevent future abuse. We also have an obligation to the victims in terms of providing therapy and support, but that is beyond the scope of this post.

But, even though you are an Orthodox Jew who shills for Orthodoxy, you seem unaware of the halakha.

Perhaps that is because the halakha is inconvenient for you. Or perhaps it is because you simply never learned it or because you did not retain what you learned.

No matter the reason, your ignorance is crystal clear.

[harold]

Please.

The actual percentage of false accusations is something like 3%.

I'm sorry Rabbi Bramly was falsely accused. But to act as if the 3% minority the majority is wrong.

And even Rabbi Bramly should know that

It just struck me like a thunderbolt! If 97% are guilty then dispense with the trial and throw them directly into jail! Brilliant! Saves the taxpayers a bundle of money; justice will be served 97% of the time, not a bad percentage, and the remaining 3% even if found innocent their lives are mostly in shambles so the damage was basically done anyway and we need not worry about them.

Mr. Rosenberg – I think you have something here!

[Shmarya]

It just struck me like a thunderbolt! If 97% are guilty then dispense with the trial and throw them directly into jail! Brilliant! Saves the taxpayers a bundle of money; justice will be served 97% of the time, not a bad percentage, and the remaining 3% even if found innocent their lives are mostly in shambles so the damage was basically done anyway and we need not worry about them.

Look, as I said above, you don't know the halakha and you don't know the facts. You're ignorant.

In cases where there is an umdena (roughly translated, strong grounds to assume guilt) we must take precautions to prevent others from being victimized.

[harold]

... obligation both to warn people about them ...

I wonder how many abusers abuse while they are on trial?

The trick is to bring them to trial reasonably quick so the window of uncertainty is small. You know the "supposed" speedy trial that we supposedly have.

[Shmarya]

I wonder how many abusers abuse while they are on trial?

More than you realize.

[Mr. Apikoros]

Shmarya, while I greatly respect you for not posting this story when Bramly was first accused, you're guilty of a logical error here, when you talk about 97% of those accused of sex crimes being guilty.

I believe that number (97%) is much too high. Certainly, among those who are formally accused, the number is far above 50%. But not 97%, or even close.

But that's not the appropriate population sample to use in this case. Here we have someone with no prior history of this, who was accused 10 years after the alleged fact, with no corroborating witnesses. Nothing. Nada.

I'll bet in this case the number isn't anywhere even near 50%.

Consider another example. Most of us (and virtually all of us are guys) can't hit major league pitching. We'd look like complete fools up at the plate, and if we're lucky, might be able to scratch out a hit one out of 33 times, or 3%, and that's being generous. But what's the proportion of major league position players (not pitchers) who can hit major league pitching more than rarely? It's 100%. Even guys who play for the Mets.

[Shmarya]

But that's not the appropriate population sample to use in this case. Here we have someone with no prior history of this, who was accused 10 years after the alleged fact, with no corroborating witnesses. Nothing. Nada.

I'll bet in this case the number isn't anywhere even near 50%.

The percentage is far higher than you realize.

Anyway, I'm not advocating harassing these people.

All I'm saying is the odds of guilt are so strong that in almost every case we have to err on the side of protecting potential victims.

[Shmarya]

But I do agree that cases like Bramly's warrant some extra caution on our part.

No honest person wants to ruin an innocent man's life.

Hopefully the full story will come out and we'll find out what motivated his accuser.

[Bilaam's Ass]

The Masorti - Conservative movement with all its problems, can be humbly proud of its Rabbis....Nough said. Period.

[harold]

Outcome of criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse.

C San Lazaro, A M Steele, and L J Donaldson

Abstract

The aim was to study the outcome of criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse made by 160 children assessed over a two year period in a specialist paediatric unit in the North of England. In all, 141 of the 160 children (88%) were female, and 99 (62%) were aged under 12 years. There were 145 males and nine females named by children in allegations of sexual abuse. Fathers formed the largest single group of alleged male perpetrators (56/176). None of the nine alleged female abusers was prosecuted. Of the 145 males, 57 reached trial; 49 were convicted, an 86% conviction rate of those sent to trial and a rate of proven sexual offence (including cautions) of 44% (54/124) among men originally interviewed by the police. Twenty five per cent of children (17/68) who could have testified did so, most giving evidence against someone who was known to them. Pragmatic selection of cases for prosecution resulted in an outcome highly vindicating of the decision to prosecute. The possible effects of this process are discussed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1511639/

[Shmarya]

That study looks at one accusation against each alleged pedophile. It doesn't go over a period of real statistical significance.

Do the same study over a 15 year period and the rates of conviction and guilt will rise exponentially.

Also, if you did the study in areas with no statute of limitations, and did it over a 15 year period, the rate of convictions would be astronomical.

And then you make the mistake of confusing convictions with actual guilt. In our system of justice, there are plenty of times a pedophile is known to be guilty 100%, but cannot be convicted under the law.

But like I said about you and halakha, you'll probably never understand it.

[harold]

Legal Proof of Child Sexual Abuse in the Absence of Physical Evidence

Allan R. De Jong MD*1, Mimi Rose JD*2

PEDIATRICS Vol. 88 No. 3 September 1991, pp. 506-511

*1 The Department of Pediatrics, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*2 Philadelphia District Attorney's Office

Child sexual abuse criminal court cases from a 12-month period were reviewed to determine the frequency and significance of physical evidence in legally "proven" felony cases with penetration. One hundred fifteen consecutive cases were reviewed, and 87 (76%) had resulted in conviction of the perpetrator on felony charges. Charges of vaginal rape were made in 88 cases, and oral and/or anal sodomy in 67 cases. Physical evidence was present in only 23% of all cases that resulted in felony convictions. Felony convictions were obtained in 67 (79%) of 85 cases without physical evidence and in only 20 (67%) of 30 cases with physical evidence. Eight of the 10 cases without physical evidence that did not result in conviction involved victims younger than 7 years of age. Cases involving the youngest victims had a significantly lower conviction rate (12 of 23), despite a very high frequency (13 of 23) of physical evidence (P<.0005). Physical evidence was neither predictive nor essential for conviction. Successful prosecution, particularly in cases involving the youngest victims, depended on the quality of the verbal evidence and the effectiveness of the child victim's testimony.

[Nobody]

"That study looks at one accusation against each alleged pedophile. It doesn't go over a period of real statistical significance."

They covered a sample size of 160. It certainly was statistically significant. You may not like the study, or you may feel they should have focused on something else and designed their study differently, but don't make these idiotic claims that show you know nothing about science when you try to discredit people's research because you don't like the results.

[Shmarya]

They covered a sample size of 160. It certainly was statistically significant.

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough.

Because pedophile offend often and do so over a long period of time, if the study covered not 2 years but 15 years, what would happen is some of the pedophiles would show up more than once, some many times.

160 is statistically valid. 2 years is not.

[Successful Messiah]

"The actual percentage of false accusations is something like 3%."

Wrong again Scotty. If you would do your home work you would realize that the 3% figure represents the percentage of accusations where it is established that the accusation was false. There are substantially more cases where neither guilt nor innocence is firmly established and no one knows what percentage of accusations are actually false.

[Chicago Sam]

Glad to hear this case was resolved in the rabbi's favor, but I wonder: Can the motzi shem ra ever be repaired? How does one pick up the feathers of hatred have been scattered?

I wish the rabbi much success, as he attempts to regain his dream of serving as a rabbi. A word of advice for anyone who works with the public: Never ever be alone with a child (or a woman) in a closed room, and always have the parent nearby. It's safer for everyone because we live in such crazy times.

[harold]

A word of advice for anyone who works with the public: Never ever be alone with a child (or a woman) in a closed room, and always have the parent nearby. It's safer for everyone because we live in such crazy times.

Maybe the best solution is to have a webcam/camera in every room and tape everything all the time. Can't be too careful in these litigious times.

[Forty Eighter]

Anecdotal analysis of the evidence would suggest that false claims are more frequent than most people think. From the few cases which were proven false we can deduce that some accusers seem like perfectly rational honest people with no motive to lie (the Willy Kennedy Smith case comes to mind). We also know that many people are convicted solely on the say-so of the accuser. Logic would dictate that the rate of false convictions for these types of crimes is statistically greater than other crimes.

I see it as two sides of the same coin. Just as there are sick and demented people who get-off by committing these types of crimes against helpless victims there are a certain number of sick and demented people who get-off on accusing innocent people.

In both cases we are talking about frustrated people with twisted ideas about sexuality. Who can forget the Duke case or the day-care center witch hunts of the 80's?

There is also a whole repressed memory industry that feeds this beast. Science is finally coming around to accepting that the whole field is quackery.

I surmise that the instant case was also a result of 'repressed memory'. I would guess that there is a therapist somewhere in the picture who convinced this "victim" that the reason her life is so messed up is because the Rabbi molested her.

[Mr. Apikoros]

The woman who had consensual sex with Ben Roethlisberger (that's the one in Nevada, not the one in Georgia whose story is credible), bragged about it to all her friends, then filed a lawsuit against Big Ben?

The "victim" of Kobe Bryant?

The "victim" of Johann Santana?

Crystal Gayle Mangum, the woman who falsely accused the Duke University lacrosse players of rape, and who gave rise to the verb "to Nifong" (meaning prosecutorial misconduct of this type in order to get reelected).

Kelly Michaels, the young woman who was falsely accused in a witchhunt and who spent several years in a NJ prison before charges were overturned?

The list goes on and on.

I don't know if this was a case of "repressed memory" or not. If yes, the shrinks involved ought to be severely disciplined, along with the idiot Federal marshalls who arrested Bramly in his synagogue's parking lot.

[Mr. Apikoros]

I noted months ago that this girl accused Bramly of forcible rape, and that she was injured during its course.

I don't have to tell anyone that rape is an extremely traumatic experience for an adult, and for a 7-year-old, it would be absolutely devastating.

So where were the parents for the past 10 years? Where was her doctor? Did this kid ever get an examination? Wouldn't he (or she) notice if a 7-year-old had a broken hymen?

How about psychological signs? Wouldn't the school notice something, even if her parents were brain-dead?

The answer is: Nothing like this ever happened, and while I don't believe polygraphs are 100% accurate, or anywhere close, this rabbi didn't slink away, didn't "disremember" like Susan Thomases did in the Vince Foster suicide, but fought the allegations like the man he is, and passed a polygraph given by his lawyer.

I don't know this girl's issues but I hope she gets the professional help she needs.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++harold | September 16, 2010 at 11:45 AM++

When I was a resident in the 1980's, you never would examine a child or a female patient without a nurse in the room with you.

[alternative childcare]

Its amazing, but not surprising, that Shmarya found something bad (his statistics) to pin on the poor Rabbi. I mean, they all have to be guilty of something or they can't be Jooz.

[Mr. Apikoros]

Apparently the office wasn't very professional at all. They had Bramly arrested, then conducted no investigation for 5 months, letting Bramly twist in the wind. Their purpose was to put Bramly's name out there to see if anyone came forward with similar accusations.

Nobody did, and it developed that the accuser and Bramly's daughter were best friends for many years following this alleged "incident." The accuser had some mental health issues, and saw a shrink, who evidently implanted in this girl's mind that her problems stemmed from this rabbi.

When the accuser, this Crystal Mangum wannabe, couldn't specify the date this supposedly happened, charges were dropped.

Shame on the NY Prosecutor's office, and shame on this miserable lowlife of a shrink.

[menachem]

B"H

Basically if the laws of Yichud were followed this type of accusation (false or REAL) would be lessened.

A jewish man or woman is not supposed to be alone with a member of the opposite sex.

Think about it.

Gut Year to all!

[Mr. Apikoros]

I guess we're all supposed to be a bunch of queers in that case, Menachem.

BTW, there is zero evidence Rabbi Bramly was alone with the accuser.

[Guest]

I suppose the good thing about these threads is that people like you, Mr. Apikoros, show your true nature and ignorance in your writing.

I suggest you get out more and find some other way to spend your time as you clearly know nothing accurate about this case.

[Mr. Apikoros]

Guest, I suggest you go fuck yourself.

[Mr. Apikoros]

OK, "Guest," if you're such an expert, why don't you enlighten us all on your version of the facts of this case?

[Guest]

Why would I? Read your own comments again Mr. A. The second from last one pretty much sums up your character.

[Mr. Apikoros]

Scumbag. If you can't state exactly why Rabbi Bramly is guilty, then shut the fuck up.