Brooklyn D.A. "Plays Sex Abuse Politics" With The Lives Of Haredi Children

"I’ll say this: Hynes’ refusal to disclose almost any information about the arrest or prosecution of alleged sex offenders from the politically powerful Orthodox community is not only discriminatory; it’s also a cynical insult to the victims his office is pledged to support."

Charles Hynes

Brooklyn DA plays sex-abuse politics
By MICHAEL LESHER • New York Post

If anyone had dared to suggest that Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ office has an official policy giving preferential treatment to Orthodox Jewish sex criminals, the critic would probably be knee-deep in editorials charging him with anti-Semitism.

Alas, what’s an Orthodox Jewish lawyer like me to say when the DA’s lieutenants themselves announce just such a policy?

I’ll say this: Hynes’ refusal to disclose almost any information about the arrest or prosecution of alleged sex offenders from the politically powerful Orthodox community is not only discriminatory; it’s also a cynical insult to the victims his office is pledged to support.

Mind you, the discrimination is no mere allegation; it’s a matter of record. In letters this month to reporters Paul Berger, of Forward, and Hella Winston, of The Jewish Week, Assistant DA Morgan Dennehy explicitly affirmed that his boss’ policy for suppressing information about sex abuse is “unique” to the “Hasidic” community.

Yes, the letter gave a “reason” for singling out Orthodox Jews — but the reason made no sense. According to Dennehy, if the DA were to release any information about alleged perpetrators from the “tight-knit and insular” (his words) Orthodox community, there would be “a significant danger that the disclosure . . . would lead members of that community to discern the identities of the victims,” which could violate state law.

Hmm. When the DA’s office announced the sentencing of child abuser Gerald Hatcher last December, it gave enough information about his 11-year-old victim to lead those familiar with the assailant to guess her name. Surely many other Brooklyn communities are as “tight-knit” as the Orthodox Jews — yet Hynes is evidently willing to name perpetrators among them.

This double standard doesn’t just discriminate against non-Orthodox defendants. From my own work on behalf of abuse survivors, I know that Hynes’ secrecy-first approach also discriminates against Orthodox Jewish victims.

For instance, my legal efforts to uncover the record of the official failure to extradite (from Israel) one notorious indicted child abuser, Rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz, enjoy the support of Survivors for Justice, a prominent advocacy group for Orthodox abuse victims. Yet in that case, too, the DA’s spokesman insists he’s protecting “the identity of [the] victims and their families from harassment” — even though I’ve told three courts that I don’t want any information that identifies the victims.

The split between victims’ real desires and Hynes’ ostensible concern for them is all too typical. The Orthodox sex-abuse survivors I know want their attackers identified publicly, both for their own vindication and because an open criminal process is less likely to be manipulated by community power politics.

Along that line, it’s no surprise that the only unqualified endorsement I’ve seen of the DA’s information lockdown has come from Ami Magazine, a weekly with close ties to ultra-Orthodox leadership.

That’s really the point. The preferential treatment for Orthodox abusers isn’t about the victims; it’s about the extent to which Orthodox leadership controls the way the DA treats these cases. Hynes yoked himself to that leadership when he announced a special program for handling sex-abuse complaints from the Orthodox community, called “Kol Tzedek,” in April 2009.

Orthodox influence on Hynes’ office is nothing new. Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services — the whip hand of the Kol Tzedek partnership — has had its own problems in the secrecy-about-abuse department.

A chapter I co-wrote with Amy Neustein for a new online book, “Sexual Abuse — Breaking the Silence” (based on extensive reporting by The Jewish Week and other publications) details Ohel’s shabby history of dodging mandatory-reporting statutes and federal privacy regulations in child-abuse cases.

The only new thing here, I’m afraid, is the spectacle of the DA’s office serving as PR agency for institutions that have done much more to obscure crimes in the Orthodox community than to fight them.

In presenting the all-too-familiar “under the carpet” policy as a form of victims’ rights, Hynes has showed his true priorities. Equal justice for sex-abuse victims isn’t one of them.

Michael Lesher, a lawyer, is writing a book on sex abuse in Orthodox Jewish communities.

Comments

[Deb]

...it gave enough information about his 11-year-old victim to lead those familiar with the assailant to guess her name

How awful! They should review their procedures of just how much, if any, information to release so this does not happen again. How awful to be victimized twice, one by the perp and another by society at large.

[Mike S.]

Deb:
You're missing the point, which is the disingenuous nature of the DA's assertion of protection of victims' privacy. {Notice also: 'guess' her name, but that's just their guessing.}

Is the DA claiming the authority under the law to operate with this kind of 'discretion' or does his office have the obligation to disclose certain information? (I would presume the latter, but after all here we are discussing it...)

[seymour]

the da's who argument makes no sense

since most sex offenders molest people that they know. therefore how can he name any perpetrator, since that can lead to the victim as he says

[groogle]

Every molester needs to be named - precisely to protect possible future victims.

[Chaim posner]

The da is lying to save his legacy. 77 year old hynes and Hanna white going down as sad and bad folks

[jancsibacsi]

This is a new low,i never tought we can go lower then we already are this da is truly a fool.

[in the know]

Oh good, Lesher's writing again instead of supporting his family. Interesting how he claims he cares for abuse victims, while he abuses his own family by neglecting them.

Lesher- do some actual work to support your family for a change.

[CALA NY]

Henna White leads victims to Ohel, only to have Ohel contact the perp and pay for their legal fees. The perp always wins. If you don't believe this, give us a call. We have the paper trail to prove it.

[D.J.]

I'm shocked at what "In the Know" has to say on a blog discussion that is concerned with a very serious issue of child sex abuse and the wholesale sellout of victims of abuse. How is Michael Lesher's writing hurting his family? Perhaps you are jealous because the most you can get is your alias up on a blog and your stupid and vile remarks will be your claim to fame. I'm outraged by your stupidity. And I would suggest that you encourage Michael rather than act out your own frustrated impulses. I spoke to a very good friend of Michael Lesher who happens to head up a prominent Jewish organization. He said your statement is libelous because Michael does a fine job with his family. His son is studying in Eretz Yisroel and is a fine young man. His daughter is also in yeshiva. He pays the tuition for his children and supports the Passaic community by attending shul and buying at the kosher stores. He doesn't use food stamps or receive welfare. So what is your problem? You seem to be consumed with jealousy. Does his writing bother you that much that you have to open up your ugly mouth.

[Shmuel]

Michael Lesser is a very stand-up guy. I remember him from his law school days. He was impressive then and has since become a formidable force to be reckoned with. When the history books write about this humiliating time to be orthodox, lesher will be one of the rare shining stars in this sordid story. Thank GD for him and continued strength in fighting the miserable orthodox "leadership" which is a travesty and a shanda of epic proportions.

[D.J.]

I applaud Shmuel for speaking the truth about Lesher. My friend who lives in Passaic knows Michael very well. I would suggest that all those who know him get in touch with him and give him the chizuk. I imagine he could use it now more than ever. What you wrote is so true about Mr. Lesher's character and honesty. I learned he is writing a book on the community's cover up of sexual abuse which should be published early next year. What you wrote on this blog would make an excellent jacket quote and it would be a nice plug for the FM blog too. May I suggest you contact Michael whose is in the Passaic phone book and offer to have your quote used on the jacket of his book.
Thank you for coming forward with the truth about this wonderful man who has served the community tirelessly, using his legal training to shine a light where few brave souls dare to tread.