Molest defendant: Kid came on to me
BY SCOTT SHIFREL • NY DAILY NEWSA Bar Mitzvah tutor and social worker charged with molesting four teens took the stand Tuesday to deny it - and even said one of the youngsters came on to him.
Yona Weinberg, 31, of Flatbush, said one teen asked him about Viagra and sex toys while he was praying and teaching Talmud, and another tried to grab his crotch.
He denied abusing the teens."It never happened," the married father of four said of one boy's account of a sexual proposition.
He said another boy put his hand on his right leg in a van.Later, [Weinberg claims] the boy said, "He had feelings for me. I explained to him that they were not mutual. I told him he would eventually outgrow them."
Weinberg, a licensed social worker who is now in real estate, lost his composure only when defense lawyer Marvin Schecter asked if he had called any of the families since his May 2008 arrest.
"I called at least two other patients to inform them I was no longer allowed to work with children," he said, lowering his voice, taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes.
Cross-examination is slated for Wednesday.
[Hat Tip: JWB.]