YU Abuse Investigators Fail To Speak To Many Victims, Supposedly Info They Gather To Be Used By YU Attorneys
It turns out that the supposedly confidential information gathered by Yeshiva University's supposedly neutral investigation into claims that it covered up child sexual abuse at its Manhattan high school will almost certainly be used by YU's lawyers to defend itself from a looming civil suit. On top of that, YU's investigators have failed to speak with many, if not most, of the alleged victims even though the investigation is now almost four months old.
The Forward reports:
It has been more than four months since Yeshiva University hired an international law firm to investigate allegations of emotional, physical and sexual abuse at a Y.U.-run high school.
Yet investigators working for the firm of Sullivan & Cromwell still have not contacted several former Y.U. school staff and students who described the abuse in a series of articles published in the Forward last year.
Meanwhile, many other former students who have been contacted say they refused to cooperate with investigators because they do not trust Y.U.’s motives. Such mistrust has only increased since Y.U. retained another international law firm, Greenberg Traurig, to fight a possible multiparty civil lawsuit.
Barry Singer, a former student who has spoken to a Y.U. investigator, said the investigator “made it clear that she had nothing to do with any sort of defense that Yeshiva might mount.” But, Singer added, she also told him that Greenberg Traurig “can use whatever they gather” to defend against a civil lawsuit.
Singer said he believed that the investigator, Lisa Friel, a sex abuse expert hired by Sullivan & Cromwell to assist with its investigation, was well intentioned. But he added that Friel has no control over how much of the information she gathers will be made public.
“It’s not really about her investigation at all,” Singer said. “It’s about [the Y.U. board], of course, and what they do with it.”
Despite protests from Y.U. alumni, Y.U.’s board has not committed to making the results of its investigation public. Instead, the board’s most recent statement, published in January, said. “We expect the findings of the investigation will be communicated to the public following completion of the investigation.”
The board will not say which of its members are overseeing the investigation.…
Also not contacted by these investigatiors are Mordechai Twersky, the former YU student and alleged abuse survivor who first made the allegations against YU public, and Rabbi Yosef Blau, a senior YU rabbi who has been a go-to person for abuse victims for at least a decade.
Twersky is reportedly part of a group of about 20 former students who have retained counsel in preparation for a lawsuit against YU over the child sexual abuse YU allegedly enabled and covered up.
'the investigator “made it clear that she had nothing to do with any sort of defense that Yeshiva might mount.” But, Singer added, she also told him that Greenberg Traurig “can use whatever they gather” to defend against a civil lawsuit.'
Say what?? "I won't use this information as part of the defense, but they will use this information as part of the defense."
The victims should talk only to the police and to their own attorneys. There's no upside for them to talk to YU. It's obvious from this that YU's internal investigation is a sham.
Posted by: Sarek | May 03, 2013 at 11:52 AM
Shmarya, is Twersky related directly to any of the "big name" Twerskys, such as Abe or any of the rebbes? (I assume he's at least indirectly related to all of them.)
Posted by: Jeff | May 03, 2013 at 01:26 PM
Jeff –
Not that I know of.
Posted by: Shmarya Rosenberg | May 03, 2013 at 01:32 PM
Greenberg Traurig is known as the pitt bull of legal firms. Shows how much YU cares about the victims.
Posted by: anon | May 03, 2013 at 01:48 PM