Israel Border Police arrested a 45-year-old kosher supervisor at the
Ben Gurion International Airport this week as he was about to board a
flight to the US. The man, who appears to be a Chabad hasid, allegedly sexually abused several boys
in Israel in 2001 and earlier. He was arrested in 2001 after a victim
complained to police. He was released to house arrest but quickly fled Israel for Brooklyn, where he has lived since then. One month after he fled Israel, his wife and children reportedly joined him in Brooklyn. But even though he had fled justice, he still returned to Israel several times over the years but was not arrested.
Kosher Supervisor Arrested For Child Sex Abuse, Case Linked To Chabad
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Israel Border Police arrested a 45-year-old kosher supervisor at the Ben Gurion International Airport this week as he was about to board a flight to the US, Ynet reported.
The man, whose name is shielded by a gag order, allegedly sexually abused several boys in Israel in 2001 and earlier. He was arrested in 2001 after a victim complained to police. He was released to house arrest but quickly fled Israel for Brooklyn, where he has lived since then.
One month after he fled Israel, his wife and children reportedly joined him in Brooklyn
But even though he had fled justice, he still returned to Israel several times over the years and was not arrested.
However, the complaining victim in the 2001 case, who is now a young adult, filed a new criminal complaint against the kosher supervisor. That caused police to arrest the man before he returned to the U.S.
Police have since received three more complaints, all from Chabad hasidim, who each told police of sexual abuse by the man committed against them during their childhoods.
Police believe there are still other victims who are afraid to file complaints.
One of the victims who have cooperated with police told Ynet that the man had been like family to him.
"During the time he served as kashrut supervisor, he would distribute surplus fruit from the places he visited, so he was always surrounded by children who would take the fruit home," he said.
A victim who (apparently) has not yet filed a complaint, told Ynet how difficult is is for him and other victims to come forward.
"We live in a very crowded neighborhood. Some of us are afraid of our wives, who do not know anything and would be angry that we did not tell them. Some are afraid of the rabbis who probably would not want us to air the dirty laundry outside, and some say that it has already been a very long time and the complaints would carry little weight today.…[There was] an instance in which the suspect went to one of the [victims] mother and told her he wanted to bring her son closer to religion; he took him once a week to the mikve, took him to slaughter houses in the nearby towns, and every one of these times, he assaulted him sexually,” the victim reportedly said.