D.A. Under More Fire For Not Prosecuting Witness Tampering In Haredi Child Sex Abuse Cases

“These children’s civil rights are being violated. They have a civil right not to be molested. And the feds should take an interest in this and the feds do take an interest in things that would normally be left to the locals when the locals don’t do it. And this local isn’t doing it.”

Brooklyn's D.A. Charles hynes and an unidentified haredi rabbi, left, in 1994

Originally published at 9:40 pm CDT 5-15-2012

As Pressure On Hynes Builds, New Revelations Of Rabbis’ Intimidation
Family in Kolko civil suit subjected to psychological pressure to drop abuse case against Flatbush yeshiva.
Hella Winston • The Jewish Week

The already distraught mother had reached the end of her rope.

She and her husband, parents of a now 13-year-old boy who they allege was sexually molested by his Brooklyn yeshiva teacher, were doing the unthinkable in the borough’s ultra-Orthodox community: bucking a system stacked heavily against them and pursuing a civil lawsuit against the Flatbush school that employed the teacher, Rabbi Yehuda Kolko.

The system was pushing back, with a vengeance.

A prominent Brooklyn rabbi and Yaakov Applegrad, an administrator at Yeshiva Torah Temimah, the school parents were suing, asked the parents to a meeting — without their lawyer. After pleading with the couple to drop the suit, Applegrad and the rabbi turned up the heat and played the card they hoped would resonate powerfully with religious Jews: they compared the parents to Nazis for attempting to “bankrupt” the yeshiva. The Nazis, they said, destroyed the yeshiva in Europe built before the war by the father of Rabbi Lipa Margulies, Torah Temimah’s founder and dean. Now, the two suggested, the parents were doing the same with their lawsuit. (It is not clear that Rabbi Margulies’ father actually had a yeshiva in Europe).

The tactic worked. At a second meeting five days later, the husband, feeling “agitated … outnumbered and overwhelmed with terrible emotions,” and with his wife in tears, signed “under great duress” a document to end the lawsuit.

The couple quickly withdrew their agreement, and their lawsuit is going forward. But this episode — and others described by a second family suing the same yeshiva — highlights the particular perils facing haredi families who would attempt to hold yeshivas or other institutions civilly responsible for child molestation.…

The story goes on to discuss other cases of threats against and harassment of victims and the D.A.'s lack of prosecutions regarding those that rise to the level of a criminal act. It then quotes Fordham law professor James A. Cohen, an expert on witness tampering who is troubled by the D.A.'s conduct:

“We are dealing with a DA who courts the Orthodox community,” Cohen said. “So what are we to conclude from this?”

“These children’s civil rights are being violated,” Cohen continued. “They have a civil right not to be molested. And the feds should take an interest in this and the feds do take an interest in things that would normally be left to the locals when the locals don’t do it. And this local isn’t doing it.”

Read it all here.

Comments

[MARK MEYER]

KOLKO WILL GET HIS DAY SOON GOD BLESS SHMAYRA AND HELLA WINSTON WHO COVERED ALL THE STORIES
EARLIER ON IN OUR FIGHT

[Q?]

The Charadi leadership did the dumbest thing ever by making this internet event they have in best case shot themselves in the foot.

[Thank You David F.]

KOLKO WILL GET HIS DAY SOON GOD BLESS SHMAYRA AND HELLA WINSTON WHO COVERED ALL THE STORIES
EARLIER ON IN OUR FIGHT

Posted by: MARK MEYER
---------------------
Who is this ALL CAP Johnny Come Lately MARK MEYER goofball? "EARLIER ON IN OUR FIGHT"? "OUR" Huh?

Thank You David F. and UOJ for your bravery in getting this revolution going. We'd all be in the dark without you. G-d bless you!

[MalachHamovies]

Lipa Margulius is one of the "gedolim" that will be at the Asifa.

[Porn4All]

The Charadi leadership did the dumbest thing ever by making this internet event they have in best case shot themselves in the foot.

Posted by: Q? | May 15, 2012 at 10:33 PM

How true! How dare they try to interfere my with my legal right to see porn!

[adam zur]

the dynamics between the Jewish government and the local authorities in eastern Europe is a good case in pointer. The authorities in almost every community gave city charters to Jews. This gave all the power to the tax paying home owners. [there was never a contact that gave any power to any rabbi. the choice to have a rabbi was always up to the discretion of the home owners. I know this because i went though a whole book that contained the original contracts in polish and translated into Hebrew.] This was honored every after the original contracts (IE the communities became ruled by Russia and not Polish lords. So even though the contract were no binding the czar still honored them for a few hundred years until 1820) so in effect the local communities were left alone as long as they could police themselves. this is a great arrangement, But in America it no longer works for the Jewish community in Brooklyn. +

[jancsipista]

Porn4All-You are the best,you make us laugh and thats a good thing:)