Chaim Levin, a gay activist who grew up in Crown Heights and who occasionally writes for FailedMessiah.com, filed a lawsuit against his cousin for allegedly sexually abusing him. Levin, a former Chabad hasid, alleges that the sexual abuse began when he was 6-years-old and continued on a weekly basis for three years.
Former Chabad Hasid Sues Judaica Store Heir Over Child Sexual Abuse
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Chaim Levin, a gay activist who grew up in Crown Heights and who occasionally writes for FailedMessiah.com, has filed a lawsuit against his cousin, Sholom Eichler, for allegedly sexually abusing him. Levin, a former Chabad hasid, alleges that the sexual abuse began when he was 6-years-old and continued on a weekly basis for three years from 1996 to 1999, the NY Post reported today.
Eichler, who was 12 when he allegedly began to abuse Levin, works at his family's eponymous Judaica stores, one located on Coney Island Avenue near Avenue J in Brooklyn, the other in Manhattan. (The Borough Park Eichler’s is not owned by the family.)
Most of the sexual abuse claimed by Levin allegedly took place at Eichler’s family home and at the Chabad synagogue Levin’s and Eichler’s families belonged to.
According to Post, Levin claims that he spoke with prosecutors in the Brooklyn D.A.’s office last year about having Eichler criminally prosecuted. The D.A.’s office did not pursue the case.
A spokesman for the Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes was unable to confirm that claim when asked by the Post.
Hynes has been under intense criticism for what many see as his decades-long laxity in pursuing charges against haredi pedophiles, and for his more recent policy of shielding the names of indicted and convicted haredi pedophiles from the media and the public under what the vast majority of experts say is the false belief that doing so somehow protects the victims.
Experts criticize Hynes for this on constitutional and other grounds, and many victims and activists believe Hynes has concealed those names to hide the fact that many of the haredi pedophiles were give exceedingly light plea deals by Hynes or had other favorable treatment non-haredi pedophiles rarely receive.
The Levin v Eichler Complaint 7-2-2012 as a PDF file:
Download Levin v Eichler COMPLAINT 7-2-2012
[Hat Tip: Ruthie.]