The FBI just announced the arrest of Evan Zauder (Aryeh Klonimus Zauder) for possessing child pornography.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York
May 03, 2012Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Janice K. Fedarcyk, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the arrest of EVAN ZAUDER for possessing child pornography. ZAUDER, 26, a sixth-grade teacher at a private school in New Jersey, was arrested by FBI agents late in the evening on Monday, May 1, 2012, at his Manhattan residence. He was presented yesterday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein in Manhattan federal court.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “As a teacher, Evan Zauder was supposed to help children not, as alleged, contribute to their exploitation. Protecting children from harm is an important priority shared by our office and the FBI, and we will continue to work tirelessly to pursue and prosecute individuals who prey on the innocent.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Janice Fedarcyk stated: “The FBI remains committed to protecting children from exploitation. The market for child pornography creates demand for production of images, and every photo and video is a record of abuse.”
According to the criminal complaint filed yesterday:
ZAUDER possessed child pornography that had been downloaded from the Internet and saved onto his computer. During a search of ZAUDER’s residence conducted on Monday, May 1, 2012, a computer containing hundreds of images and videos of minor children engaging in sexually explicit conduct was seized.
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ZAUDER is charged with one count of possessing child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI. He added that the investigation is continuing.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea Surratt and Paul Monteleoni are in charge of the prosecution.
The charge contained in the complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The FBI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through their switchboard at (212) 384-1000. It is staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800- 843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
Update 2:35 PM CDT – In the comments below, Choni Ha Meragel notes that NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development division of Education and Jewish Studies lists Zauder as a student:
Evan Zauder
Interests: Educational Administration, Classroom Teaching
Evan Zauder is a Dual Masters student and a Jim Joseph Fellow in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU. After high school graduation from CHAT in Toronto, Canada, he went on for two years of study at the renowned Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem's Old City. He continued his education at Yeshiva University, achieving a BA (with honours!) in Political Science and a minor in Hebrew Language. Upon his arrival in New York, he began working for Bnei Akiva of New York as a Regional Director, and quickly moved his way up the ranks at Bnei Akiva to director of the In-School Programming division. He is [actually, was; please see the information posted further below – FailedMessiah] the Director of Youth Programming at The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and he spends his summers working for Bnei Akiva of North America, most recently directing a post-tenth grade summer program in Israel. Evan is also founding and current Director of the Yeshivat HaKotel Alumni Association of America.
Zauder also taught 6th grade at Yeshivat Noam in Paramus, which suspended him when it learned of the arrest, and which also notified parents through a letter that an arrest of an unnamed staff member had been made:
…Principal Rabbi Chaim Hagler did not name Zauder, but said a faculty member had been suspended after the school learned he was arrested for alleged possession of child pornography.
"We were shocked, and of course saddened, to learn of this arrest," the letter said. "At this point, we have no reason to believe that any of our students are in any way involved or directly affected."
The school is cooperating with the investigation and is prepared to provide counseling services, Hagler said in the letter.
"The faculty member is new to our school this year, and, as is our routine practice, was the subject of extensive interviews and received multiple positive background references," the letter said.…
Choni Ha Meragel also points out that Zauder is was the co-youth-director at Rabbi Avi Weiss's synagogue,the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. However, it seems that Zauder's name, which was found on HIR's contact page, has now been removed.
[At 6:34 pm CDT, Rabbi Steven Exler of HIR emailed to correct the record:
I wanted to clarify that Evan has not been employed at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in the last year. He was on staff as a part time Youth Director in Fall 2010 - Spring 2011 (I contacted NYU's Steinhardt School to let them know this as well, since they also had him listed as currently working at HIR. It looks like they've removed his entry fully now) . Can you correct that information on your blog post? The screen shot you have [at very bottom of this post] of Google takes you to hir.org - our old website; thebayit.org is our current website.]
Zauder's Jewish name is Aryeh Klonimus Zauder. He lives in Manhattan.
Update 4:11 pm CDT – Here is the Yeshivat Noam email about Zauder's arrest:
Thursday May 3, 2012/ 11 Iyar 5772
Dear Parents,
I had the opportunity, together with Dr. Mondrow, to speak with all of the Middle School students this morning about the arrest of Evan Zauder, one of the Middle School teachers. I met with the students and teachers of Eighth Grade before Tefilah, the Seventh Grade right after Tefilah and the Sixth Graders over 2nd and 3rd period. I also met with the entire Elementary and Early Childhood Staff to advise them of the situation and give them guidance as to how to monitor and respond to their students if they ask questions.
I want to share with you what was discussed with the Middle School.
I shared the facts that Evan Zauder was arrested on Tuesday night and is being accused of downloading child pornography from the Internet onto his home computer. I explained that child pornography is pictures of anyone under the age of 18 not wearing any clothing. Evan Zauder is not being accused of doing anything illegal at Yeshivat Noam and we have no reason to believe that any of our students are involved or affected in any way. I also explained to them that there is a legal process that now takes place to determine if he is actually guilty or innocent.
I explained to them why I have shared this information with their parents and now with them. I informed them that we have been told that the information of his arrest will be in the press within a day or two and his name, as well as the name of Yeshivat Noam, would be mentioned. Therefore, we wanted parents and students to hear the actual facts from us directly, so that they understand and are informed as to what is going on.
I informed the students that it is now illegal for Evan Zauder to have any type of communication with them at all. He cannot come to the school, call, e-mail, text, etc.
I also let the students know that Dr. Mondrow, as well as the administration and teachers, are available to talk about this further, answer their questions, address their concerns and listen to their feelings. I further stressed the importance of discussing this with their parents, and used this as an opportunity to remind students how important it is to talk to their parents when something is bothering them.
We also had a discussion as to when it is appropriate to talk about this and when it is gossip and Loshan Harah.
The students as a whole were very attentive during the discussion and they asked very appropriate questions. The questions ranged from details about the case, practical questions like who will cover his classes and some deeper philosophical questions, like why would someone do this. For those questions that we had answers, we answered, and when we did not have an answer, we said we did not know. We are monitoring how the students are reacting and stand ready to provide support to individual or groups of students, as needed.
We are aware that older siblings and friends have already begun to share some of the details with younger children. Because the Fifth Graders ride home on the bus with the Middle School students, Dr. Miryam Benovitz and I spoke with them this afternoon to tell them that a Middle School teacher had been arrested for doing something wrong. I encouraged them to go home and speak with their parents about this. I also let them know that the administration, teachers and Dr. Benovitz will be available to speak with them tomorrow.
For young children, we would suggest that you carefully listen to their questions and monitor their conversations so that you can respond with accurate information if the need arises. Or, knowing your child, you may feel that it is important to initiate a conversation about this situation. Either way, please see below for a very helpful guideline that Project S.A.R.A.H. put together to help Yeshivat Noam's teachers and parents know how to talk about this sensitive topic with their children.
Finally, we hope to schedule an evening workshop next week for Yeshivat Noam parents with representatives from Project S.A.R.A.H. to address the ways parents can educate their children about staying safe and the ways we can talk with them about this difficult topic.
Once again, should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly or if you have any information relating to this matter, please contact the authorities at 212-384-2000.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Chaim Hagler
Principal
What You Can Say to Your Children
Today's news has shocked all of us. It is always a painful experience to find that someone we trusted turns out not to be trustworthy at all. When our trust is broken, we feel angry, scared, and vulnerable. These are normal reactions to a betrayal. How do we as parents communicate to our children something about what has happened without passing on to them the emotional burden we ourselves are struggling with? How do we sensitize our children without leaving them in fear?
Here are some suggestions we would like to share with you:
Ask your children what they may have heard so far. Whatever they have heard, they do not need to know more than the fact that a teacher was asked to leave school because of bad things he did.
For older children you might share that he was involved in inappropriate things on the internet. Keep it age-appropriate, factual, and share less rather than more. You will find that children will often be satisfied by simple answers.
For children who are aware of the nature of the charges, you can explain that this person took pictures of children with their clothes off, and that this is against the law.
Many children will not understand why someone would do such a thing; they may giggle or yell "gross!" They may ask why someone would do that. The best response is probably also the truth: "I don't know but this was against the law and it was wrong, and that's why he is in trouble. " Do not feel you need to have the answer, but do not dismiss the question either.
Children will have different reactions. Some may be sad, scared, angry, or none of the above. They may not seem to show any emotions at first, only to react strongly a day or a week later. Ask your children how they are feeling after you explain the situation to them. You can share with them how you are feeling. "I feel nervous." Let them know that people feel different things when they hear things like this, and any way they feel is normal and okay with you.
Assure them that this is an unusual situation: most people in the world are good people and do not want to hurt children. Assure them that you are there to help and protect them.
Younger children may hear a lot of rumors from friends and siblings. You may not want to wait to have this conversation with your children. They will be best off if you have framed the issue for them before they hear about it from someone else. Ask them if they have any other thoughts or questions.
Be alert to any signs that your child is having a particularly strong reaction and feel free to contact Project S.A.R.A.H. or any trusted professional.
This situation is painful and frightening for all of us. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Project S.A.R.A.H. (973-777-7638) if you feel you need any counseling for yourself or your children.
And here's a screenshot from Google regarding Zauder and HIR: