Prominent Haredi Rabbi Charged With Rape, Sexual Abuse, And Other Charges

A prominent Brooklyn rabbi was charged yesterday with molesting a 12-year-old girl over three years, authorities said. Nechemya Weberman, 52, of Williamsburg, pleaded innocent at his arraignment last night. Authorities said the shocking sex abuse, took place from 2007 until 2010.

 

Rabbi charged as perv
REUVEN BLAU and KEVIN FASICK • New York Post

A prominent Brooklyn rabbi was charged yesterday with molesting a 12-year-old girl over three years, authorities said.

Nechemya Weberman, 52, of Williamsburg, pleaded innocent at his arraignment last night. Authorities said the shocking sex abuse, took place from 2007 until 2010.

The alleged victim -- who was being counseled by the rabbi, a source said -- is now 16. The source said her parents contacted police.

Police said Weberman was charged with a criminal sex act, rape, endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse.

"When someone is a molester . . . it has to be dealt with," said Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), who represents the predominantly Jewish Orthodox community of Borough Park.

"We have made some progress [in the community], but we have a very long way to go. Now is the time to stand up and do the right thing."

Weberman's lawyer, George A. Farkas, denied the charges, saying his client "has counseled troubled families in the past."

"It would be an injustice if people had any kind of belief that there was truth in these allegations," he said.

Update 11:44 am CST – Yerachmiel Lopin notes that Weberman is a leading and active member of Williamsburg's haredi modesty committee, the Vaad Hatzniyus. And, as ADDRebbe and ZIY mention in the comments below, Weberman belongs to a Chabad offshoot group, the Molochim, which still remains anti-Zionist, just as Chabad was from the 1880s through the early 1950s.

Update 12:09 pm CST – Yerachmiel Lopin tells me Weberman is the cousin of the Rabbi Weberman who is one of the Neturei Karta rabbis who went to Teheran to meet with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Comments

[ADDeRabbi]

Puts a new spin on the Gemara:
אם דומה הרב למלאך ה' - יבקשו תורה מפיו
[Webermans are "Malochim"]

[yudel]

what kind of spin?

[ZIY]

He is a member of a prominent "Malochim" family.

[ZIY]

From "On The Contrary" blog:

http://adderabbi.blogspot.com/

[ZIY]

From "On The Contrary" blog:

http://adderabbi.blogspot.com

[ZIY]

From "On The Contrary" blog:

http://adderabbi.blogspot.com

[ZIY]

Look up "On The Contrary" blog.

[ADDeRabbi]

ZIY - thanks for the multiple comments. The post in question is here

[ruthie]

12 years old... :(

[Barry]

What is Nechemya's relationship to Meir Weberman?

[Dutch]

Who made him prominent? the NY Post? does he have a shul? a yeshiva? Just asking... If he is so prominent then FM needs to post a picture

[Deremes]

"Prominent Haredi Rabbi Charged With Rape, Sexual Abuse, And Other Charges"

Hes not a Rabbi or Prominent but that's typical the NY Post and FM.

I cant confirm it but of what I've heard,the girl had another case were she claimed she was raped by a minor and case was dismissed. The judge asked yesterday the DA how come during that trial she never brought up or told anyone about this case.
He was released on $1500.00

Anyone can confirm this?

[corn popper]

His grandfather, Moses Weberman, was a prominent Jewish businessman located in pre-Satmar-infested Williamsburg in the early 1900s. He owned a strictly Kosher Deli where he rewarded those who wore their tzitzis "out" with free products. He discovered the "Malach".

[Shmarya]

"Prominent Haredi Rabbi Charged With Rape, Sexual Abuse, And Other Charges"

Hes not a Rabbi or Prominent but that's typical the NY Post and FM.

I cant confirm it but of what I've heard,the girl had another case were she claimed she was raped by a minor and case was dismissed. The judge asked yesterday the DA how come during that trial she never brought up or told anyone about this case.
He was released on $1500.00

Anyone can confirm this?

Posted by: Deremes | February 24, 2011 at 12:14 PM

1. He's the nephew of the leader of the Molochim and a leader of the Vaad HaTzius.

2. I highly doubt the rest of what you write is accurate, and from your any comments here, I doubt you would have a clue, even if the truth was standing right in front of you.

[corn popper]

Moses Weberman had a son-in-law by the name of Binyomin Wilhelm, who founded Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.

[corn popper]

so now this putz destroys the good name of his prominent family

[Deremes]

"pre-Satmar-infested Williamsburg"

Lets see the definition of infested:

1.to live in or overrun to an unwanted degree or in a troublesome manner, especially as predatory animals or vermin do: Sharks infested the coastline.
2.to be numerous in, as anything undesirable or troublesome: the cares that infest the day.
3.Archaic . to harass.

cp,fm is a good outlet to vent,ha?

[corn popper]

Deremes,
All those definitions seem to fit the bill. Thanks for clarifying.

[Shmarya]

He was released on $1500.00

He turned himself in and because of that got a low bail. I'm not sure if it was $1500, though.

[Deremes]

"He's the nephew of the leader of the Molochim and a leader of the Vaad HaTzius.

2. I highly doubt the rest of what you write is accurate, and from your any comments here, I doubt you would have a clue, even if the truth was standing right in front of you."

Hes uncle IS a prominent rabbi and that doesn't make him too a rabbi or prominent.

I guess you have no clue what a rabbi really means. In my dealing with lots of non-Jews in the Bronx, when they see me they say:hey Rabbi.Is that what you call a rabbi?

As for the rest, i said that i didn't confirm it.Its what Ive heard. Perhaps check it out

[steve]

If Moses Weberman was Binyomin Wilhelm's shver, then he must be the accused rapist's great grandfather. Rabbi Yisroel Belsky is Binyomin Wilhelm's grandson, and by extension, a great-grandson of Moses Weberman. That would make him a cousin of Nechemya. Belsky has been very outspoken about not going to the police in cases of child rape and molestation. He played a prominent role in the Yudi Kolko/YTT coverup and was behind the 2006 attempt of outing UOJ.

[steve]

I am only guessing that Moses is his great grandfather based on Nechemya's age.

[corn popper]

Steve,
You're probably right. I may be off by a generation.

[Deremes]

"Yerachmiel Lopin tells me Weberman is the nephew of the Rabbi Weberman who is one of the Neturei Karta rabbis who went to Teheran to meet with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."

His uncle who is the rabbi of the Molochim shull, did not go to that meeting.That was his uncles son which makes him his cousin. Kapish?

[corn popper]

Deremes,
The point is to throw up enough crap against the wall...

[stickafinger init]

Any relation to the frum Weberman family in the Miami area?

Hey, where is MM3? Did he go on vacation?

[Shmarya]

Any relation to the frum Weberman family in the Miami area?

Yes. I believe so.

[jancsipista]

oy vey iz mir i have webermans in my family also oy vey what can i do?

[abe]

People are commenting as if he's guilty. I don't know if he is or not but I do know 1 thing,HES INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY!!!!

[Deremes]

Abe,
Innocent till proven guilty,is in court. On this blog,being frum, your guilty already.Frum and crime is synonymous in here.

[jancsipista]

deremes- how many of theese accusations do you know have been disproven or just fabricated? and there are many many more then i care to mention accusations.

[steve]

There is no reason for this girl to lie and to label herself a rape victim and hurt her shidduchim prospects. Unfortunately, our community labels abuse victims as damaged goods instead of showing them support and encouragement. Furthermore, what is Weberman's excuse for putting himself in a situation of yichud with a 12-15 year old girl? Ein Aputropus L'Arayos. There needs to be strict guidelines that an adult male should not be allowed to isolate himself with a child, unless it is his own. The same halacha that applies to gentile teachers/tutors needs to be extended to Jews as well for they no longer have the chazaka of kashrus they once supposedly had. They are today just as suspect as the gentiles when it comes to pedophilia. How did this evolve? There is no more yiras shamayim today. When there is no yiras shamayim, we have to instill in them the fear of man and the fear of being arrested and labelled for life as a sexual predator.

[Moshe aron Kestenbaum,Williamsburg ODA]

What a mother fucker he is what a cocksucker bastard snake shtick dreck garbage sewer ass.-if this is true he should be strung up side down like Mussolini was hung. His grandfather by the way was an attorney he probable would be turning over in his grave on such news

[ah-pee-chorus]

The same halacha that applies to gentile teachers/tutors needs to be extended to Jews as well for they no longer have the chazaka of kashrus they once supposedly had. They are today just as suspect as the gentiles when it comes to pedophilia. How did this evolve? There is no more yiras shamayim today. When there is no yiras shamayim, we have to instill in them the fear of man and the fear of being arrested and labelled for life as a sexual predator.

steve- i respect most of your posts as they show no mercy for sexual predators and those that protect them.
that said, any chezkas kashrus that ever presumed them to be less of a risk than anybody else was misplaced.people are people. to say that having fallen from that perch they are "just as suspect as gentiles" is a demeaning way to refer to over 99% of the worlds inhabitants, and furthers the mistaken stereotypical belief that jews, and religious jews, are somehow more moral than non-jews.
also, implying that someone who commits such an act is evidence of their lack of yiros shamayim is a classic example of the 'no true scotsman' fallacy. plenty of yirei shamayim have been rapists, and i would venture a guess that atheists , who dont look to any metaphysical source for their morality are frequently well practiced in true moral thought unrestricted by any biblical precepts that cloud true morality. to imply that absent yiros shamayim fear of arrest and destruction of their reputation is the only thing that prevents non-believers from these disgusting acts is wrong and shows a false assumption that fear of god and belief in the torah is the source for morality.

[steve]

APC,

Anyone who has a true fear of god (there are probably less an a handful today), would not dare commit such a heinous crime and sin. Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai blessed his students before his death that their fear of god should equal that of man. They were astounded when they heard this, but they then understood how difficult of a level this is to attain. It is one thing for a person to claim that he believes in god, it is another to show it through actual fear. Fearing god is one of the most difficult commandments to fulfill.

This does not mean that all those that lack this fear will become child molesters and commit other types of crimes. It just means that those that have the tendencies towards certain sinful and criminal activities will have less inhibitions when it comes to fulfilling their perverted desires. Those that are cursed with the sickness of pedophilia will more likely act upon these impulses when they know that there will be no consequences or repercussions from their actions.

[steve]

"just as suspect as gentiles" is a demeaning way to refer to over 99% of the worlds inhabitants, and furthers the mistaken stereotypical belief that jews, and religious jews, are somehow more moral than non-jews.

I was just stating halacha. The basis for this halacha is a discussion within itself. My point was that today, with the low level of god fearing Jews, there should be no halachic distinction. There is definitely a need for a takkana.

[seymour]

I was just stating halacha. The basis for this halacha is a discussion within itself. My point was that today, with the low level of god fearing Jews, there should be no halachic distinction. There is definitely a need for a takkana.

Posted by: steve | February 24, 2011 at 09:03 PM

this has been going on for who knows how long it is just now we are learning about.

[itchiemayer]

All of the Webermans that I know of are related. The Malach, I can't remember his name - he was a Kohen and not named Weberman, was the tutor for the 6th Grand Rabbi of Lubavitch. When he learned his pupil was learning secular subjects on his own, he approached the 5th Rebbe (Father of sixth) and told him about this, and somehow they had a falling out because of this. The Malach was 100% against learning secular studies. The Malach started his own, albeit small movement. There were some Talmidim of Torah Vodaas in the days of R' Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz, tz"l that became followers of the Malach. Rabbi Mayer Weberman took over upon the death of the Malach. I believe he is the Father of the long time Rabbi in Florida, Pinchus Weberman (I think his name is Pinchus).
Very few people know of the Malachim. Jerome Mintz has a book which discusses a little bit about the Malachim. The Malach's surname might have been Levine. Seems right, but I'm not positive. I met a teenager in Monsey named Weberman and he confirmed to me that he is related to all of the Webermans.

[itchiemayer]

Here it is from Wikipedia:
Rabbi Chaim Avraham Dov Ber Levine haCohen, also known as "The Malach" had been one of the closest followers of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn and the tutor of his grandson, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. However, Rabbi Levine became distanced from the Schneersohns and their dynasty, Chabad-Lubavitch, due to personal differences.

[Shmarya]

Rabbi Levine became distanced from the Schneersohns and their dynasty, Chabad-Lubavitch, due to personal differences.

Posted by: itchiemayer | February 24, 2011 at 11:05 PM

The "differences: was one event. The Makach caught his student, Yosef Yitzhak Schneersohn, reading sexular literature (not science or math – Sherlock Holmes, etc.)

YY Schneersohn lied to try to cover it up. The Malacjh told his rebbe, YY's father, about what happened.

The rebbe called in his son YY and asked him if he had been reading Sherlock Holmes.

YY said no.

The rebbe turned to the Malach and said, You see. My son is not reading that – my son doesn't lie.

The Malach left Lubavitch immediately, I think, because he saw clearly that the rebbe was not honest (or sane) and his son was a liar.

[Chaim Hamburger]

This rabbi is part of a group of thugs that go around breaking into people's homes, email accounts, chats, phone, using surveillance video, keeping records of that information and blackmailing victims to change their ways or they won't get shidduch.

[Shmarya]

The Malach left Lubavitch immediately, I think, because he saw clearly that the rebbe was not honest (or sane) and his son was a liar.

Posted by: Shmarya | February 24, 2011 at 11:46 PM

To clarify, I think the Malach left Lubavitch immediately.

The reason he left is clear because he spoke about it. He considered the 5th Lubavitcher rebbe to be a fraud, and his son – the future 6th rebbe – to be a liar, a poor student, and a dishonest person.

[Crown Heightser]

Shmarya,

Is there any legitimate source for your claim that the Malach's departure from chabad had anything to do with the 6th rebbe's choice of reading material?

[Shmarya]

Is there any legitimate source for your claim that the Malach's departure from chabad had anything to do with the 6th rebbe's choice of reading material?

Posted by: Crown Heightser | February 25, 2011 at 12:09 AM

Dozens of his disciples.

Ask the old Zirken. Maybe he'll tell you the truth.

Otherwise, go to Williamsburg and ask the old Molochim.

[Shmarya]

It's also been printed several times, but I don't recall the exact sources.

[Shmarya]

I just found these three sources that supposedly mention it:

B. Sobel, The M’lochim

Ehrlich, Leadership in the HaBaD Movement, pp. 269–271

Jerome R. Mintz, Hasidic People, pp. 21–26

[ah-pee-chorus]

It just means that those that have the tendencies towards certain sinful and criminal activities will have less inhibitions when it comes to fulfilling their perverted desires. Those that are cursed with the sickness of pedophilia will more likely act upon these impulses when they know that there will be no consequences or repercussions from their actions.

steve-
you have stated an opinion here which would lead to a position that the more religious a person is the less likely he is to commit a crime. after all, religious people by definition have a fear of god, while non-religious and non-believers would have fear of god rates approaching zero. but the facts show this to be untrue. the less religious a country is, the less sexual , violent, and overall crime rates. countries with higher rates of belief have higher crime rates.
i have some ideas as to why this is true, but a study confirming this is found here......

http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html

[naftali]

would not jump to conclusions on this story.
I know Weberman for years and he seems like a decent fellow.He is not a religious fanatic at all so all those stories about his cousin being Neturei Karta has nothing to do with him.
It's very easy for a woman or girl to accuse a man of something and get him locked up overnigh.At least in New York City
In fact if I was a girl I could accuse almost anyone of molestation and see that person go to central booking for at least an uncomfortable overnight stay,no real questions asked.Let's see what happens when they actually go to trial..

[Sara D.]

I love how you jump to conclusions before verifying facts, Shmarya.

If I, a female, have a personal agenda against you (as does Weberman's victim and her boyfriends - bums from Willi) and I decide that I want to see you behind bars, go to the DA and say that you molested me - does that make you a sexual offender?

I'm thinking of doing it, truth or not. Then you'll be on the table, so to speak, and have to defend yourself. I wonder if you'll stand on the victims's (my) side right away, without hearing facts and knowing the true story.

After all, if I accuse you then you MUST be a GUILTY sex offender.

[Shmarya]

If I, a female, have a personal agenda against you (as does Weberman's victim and her boyfriends - bums from Willi) and I decide that I want to see you behind bars, go to the DA and say that you molested me - does that make you a sexual offender?

Police don't act based on accusations alone. They first investigate and then the DA needs to get an indictment from a grand jury.

Making false accusations is itself a crime, and anyone falsely accused has the right to sue, as well.

[screwed blued and tatooted]

he is the Nephew of the gangster Pinchas "Rabbi" Weberman of Miami Beach who perverts halacha to enrich his personal entitlment to anything he or his freinds wants to take from other people, be it thier property ,chattle , self respect, appearantly it runs in the family. Rabbi Shraga Feivel Medelovitz threw them out of Torah Vodas when they were little thugs havong the foresight of thier dangerous views and nutty behavior.