A friend forwarded the following email to me:
Yeshiva boys commonly accept rides from strangers who appear to be “frum.” However, appearances can be deceiving and this practice has lately proven to be extremely harmful.
Recently, a Jewish male in his 40s, had been offering rides to Yeshiva boys waiting at bus stops on Coney Island Avenue and other Flatbush and Boro Park venues. One of his regular passengers confided to his father that the driver had exhibited unusual behavior. The boy’s father decided to accompany his son and confront the driver. The driver fled the scene when he saw the father. It has since been discovered that the driver had been previously arrested for endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree sex abuse.
Because of early intervention, no crime was committed this time. However, this predator has escaped incarceration and remains free to prey on unsuspecting boys. The authorities are investigating this matter.
The pedophile has been identified as follows:
Vehicle:* Blue 1987 Chevy Caprice – New York license plates
Age: Early to mid 40’s
Height: 5’ 11
Weight: Approximately 220 lbs.
Facial hair: Clean-shaven
Color: White*Please note that he may have access to more than one vehicle.
We urge you to caution your children never to accept rides from strangers without your explicit permission. Instruct them to immediately report to you any strange behavior displayed by any adult in their lives.
We must be proactive about containing and preventing these incidents in our community. Please pass this information on to everyone you know. Please advise anyone who suggests this falls into the category of loshon horah, that they are mistaken. A pedophile is a rodeph and we have a halachic obligation to protect our children and the children of our community from harm. The Torah asserts that we are forbidden to sit idly by while others are in danger (lo samoid al dam re’echa). As Harav Shalom Yosef Elyashiv has ruled, we are obligated to report known pedophiles to the police.
Keep your eyes and ears open and insist that your child do the same. Help keep our children safe and healthy.
The alleged pedophile's name, address and license plate number were in the original email. While my friend has proven to be absolutely credible, I am not printing the alleged pedepohile's identity until I can verify it. I will say that he lives in a haredi area of Brooklyn and has a very Jewish first name and family name.