Mendel Tevel, a Chabad-ordained rabbi who was arrested in October 2013 in Beverly Hills, California on New York State child sex abuse charges and was subsequently extradited to New York, has now pleaded guilty in a sweetheart plea deal that may see him serve no prison sentence.
Above: Rabbi Mendel Tevel (Tewel)
Rabbi Mendel Tevel Pleads Guilty In Sweetheart Plea Deal
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Mendel Tevel, a Chabad-ordained rabbi who was arrested in October 2013 in Beverly Hills, California on New York State child sex abuse charges and was subsequently extradited to New York, has now pleaded guilty, the Jewish Journal reported.
Tevel is the son-in-law of Chabad Rabbi Hertzel Illulian, the founder and director of the JEM youth center in Beverly Hills where Tevel worked and where he was arrested. He married Illulian’s daughter Bracha in 2012.
At first, Tevel pleaded not guilty to 37-counts of sexual abuse – many in the first degree – and was released in Brooklyn on $100,000 bail.
But on April 24, Tevel (also sometimes spelled Tewel) reportedly changed his plea to guilty in a deal that saw him face only two counts of criminal sexual acts in the third degree – the least serious of the charges against him.
A criminal sexual act in the third degree means: 1. A person engages in oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct with a person who is incapable of consent by reason of some factor other than being less than seventeen years old; or, 2. being twenty-one years old or more, he or she engages in oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct with a person less than seventeen years old; or, 3. a person engages in oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct with another person without such person's consent where such lack of consent is by reason of some factor other than incapacity to consent. A criminal sexual act in the third degree is a Class E felony.
At the time of the 2007 incident that lead to the charges against him, Tevel was reportedly either 23- or 24-years-old.
By contrast, a criminal sexual act in the first degree is a Class B felony – a much more serious charge that carries a potential sentence of as much as 25-years in prison.
According to the New York State Penal Code, a person is guilty of criminal sexual act in the first degree when he or she engages in oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct with another person: 1. By forcible compulsion; or, 2. Who is incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless; or, 3. Who is less than eleven years old; or, 4. Who is less than thirteen years old and the actor is eighteen years old or more.
Tevel’s sentencing is currently scheduled for June 8.
While he faces a maximum of four-years in prison, Tevel could be sentenced to as little as no prison time (if the several days he served in jail are counted in his favor), and could even be sentenced to be immediately released without any probation at all.
A Jewish Journal exposé in August 2013 detailed the stories of four of Tevel’s alleged victims – victims who ranged in age from 6- to 14-years-old.
[Hat Tip: The Lion.]