Let us show our united and united support for the victim, and fill the court room in solidarity. Please remember to remain quiet and respectful
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Hundreds of members in Satmar sect are backing Nechemya Weberman, 53, who is on trial for forcing and raping a young girl shame on them
THE TRIAL.........
All of our hearts are still filled with very strong emotions after attending the weberman trial this first week and witness as this courageous young survivor faced her monster abuser in a public setting (CRIMINAL COURT). With dignity she shared her story of abuse by the monster phony nechemya weberman for the world to hear.We are finally beginning to see the light of hope and change in the way the community stands up as a united force by giving so much love and support to the victims and survivors
Five years ago the victims and their families going thru a trial stood alone and isolated.
Very few showed up in court with us to show support for the the families and victims who were living with fear of intimidation rejected and shunned by the community.
Now the courtroom was filled with so many people who took the time to make their voices heard and shout out to the enablers and rabbis that protect molesters "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" We will not stand by quietly as our streets are infected by criminals that put our children in harms way.
I am so proud that so many came and filled the court daily.
I am so proud that so many came and filled the court daily.
From the staff of
ohr nava, zaaka,Coalition of jewish advocates,frum follies to Ari Mandel,Eli Mandel, Yanki Horowits, Haim Dweck, Nuchem Rosenberg, Debbi Teller of Ad- Kan, Joe Diangelo Judy Genuth,Isreal T. Appel,levi leifer, Joel Engelman, Asher Lipner, Mark Meyer Appel,Mark Weiss,Mindy Lovi,Pinny Gold,Marcos Mastri Boorey Deutch Sue Donim,Yerachmiel Lopin and so many others,
LET US KEEP UP THE FIGHT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, October 29, 2012, 6:20 PM
{ HYNES WAS CRITICIZED BY MAYORS KOCH ,BLOOMBERG AND LEADING COMMUNITY LEADERS FOR NOT RELEASING THE NAMES OF SEXUAL PREDATORS)
THE MOST high-profile sex abuse trial in years to hit Brooklyn’s insular ultra-Orthodox community is scheduled to begin this week. But hundreds of Satmar Hasids are backing the suspect, not the victim.
Nechemya Weberman, 53, is charged with 88 counts of sexual misconduct for allegedly forcing a teenage girl to repeatedly perform sex acts on him when she was between 12 and 15.
Weberman is a prominent Hasidic counselor, whose ancestor is credited with founding the first yeshiva in Brooklyn.
“It’s going to be a very interesting trial,” said one of the seven attorneys who will argue Weberman’s high-stakes case. All are bound by a judge’s gag order, and declined to discuss details.
Since coming forward last year, the woman, now 18, and her husband have allegedly been the target of a massive intimidation effort, which advocates have argued has long been an obstacle to reporting such cases in the community. More than 1,000 men showed up at a Williamsburg hall this spring to raise $500,000 for Weberman’s legal defense.
But the couple has not wavered in their resolve, even after one man allegedly offered them $500,000 in exchange for their silence, and suggested they flee to Israel. Three other men ripped the husband’s kosher certificate from his restaurant, causing him to shutter the business.
The incidents led to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ filing the most serious witness intimidation indictments ever within the community, against the four men in July.
Their trials are not expected until next year.
The issue of witness intimidation — common in Orthodox enclaves — was highlighted earlier this year in a series of articles that led to criticism of how Hynes handles molestation cases within the community.
In the Weberman case, as the lead member of the ardent Satmar sect’s “modesty committee,” the unlicensed counselor was allegedly helping the sixth-grade girl because she was believed to be unchaste.
Prosecutors say there were six other women who were counseled by him as part of this “modesty committee” who complained about unwanted sexual advances. But the women would not proceed with pressing criminal charges.
Weberman and the teenager’s father secretly videotaped her in bed with an previous boyfriend while she was still underage, which they took to the DA to file statutory rape charges against the man, both the defense and prosecution agree. The teenager threatened suicide, and the statutory rape charges were dropped.
Weberman’s defense argues that the new claims against him are in retaliation for the videotaping and statutory rape charges.
But Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Ingram found that argument “speculative and not supported by any facts.” He forbade any mention of the tape at trial.
The Weberman case has stirred up strong emotions in the Hasidic community, which numbers some 250,000 people in Brooklyn. It’s the largest such group outside Israel.
“The community felt we’re under attack because he’s supposedly a problem solver,” while the young woman had left the strictly religious lifestyle, said an acquaintance of the accuser.
Hynes, who had previously came under fire for not releasing names of Orthodox men accused of abuse, has said intimidation of victims and their kin is rampant in that community.
Weberman hails from a prominent lineage. One of his ancestors, Ben Zion Weberman, is credited with helping to establish the very first yeshiva in Brooklyn in 1917. “He is very well respected,” A.J. Weberman, a secular distant cousin who compiled the family history, said of the man facing trial.
The publicity this case and similar ones have garnered is beginning to shift attitudes in the Hasidic community, insiders say.
Awareness is on the rise, said Mark Meyer Appel, founder of the advocacy group Voice of Justice. “There is a major change happening,” he added.
With Simone Weichselbaum
Nechemya Weberman, 53, is charged with 88 counts of sexual misconduct for allegedly forcing a teenage girl to repeatedly perform sex acts on him when she was between 12 and 15.
Weberman is a prominent Hasidic counselor, whose ancestor is credited with founding the first yeshiva in Brooklyn.
“It’s going to be a very interesting trial,” said one of the seven attorneys who will argue Weberman’s high-stakes case. All are bound by a judge’s gag order, and declined to discuss details.
Since coming forward last year, the woman, now 18, and her husband have allegedly been the target of a massive intimidation effort, which advocates have argued has long been an obstacle to reporting such cases in the community. More than 1,000 men showed up at a Williamsburg hall this spring to raise $500,000 for Weberman’s legal defense.
But the couple has not wavered in their resolve, even after one man allegedly offered them $500,000 in exchange for their silence, and suggested they flee to Israel. Three other men ripped the husband’s kosher certificate from his restaurant, causing him to shutter the business.
The incidents led to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ filing the most serious witness intimidation indictments ever within the community, against the four men in July.
Their trials are not expected until next year.
The issue of witness intimidation — common in Orthodox enclaves — was highlighted earlier this year in a series of articles that led to criticism of how Hynes handles molestation cases within the community.
In the Weberman case, as the lead member of the ardent Satmar sect’s “modesty committee,” the unlicensed counselor was allegedly helping the sixth-grade girl because she was believed to be unchaste.
Prosecutors say there were six other women who were counseled by him as part of this “modesty committee” who complained about unwanted sexual advances. But the women would not proceed with pressing criminal charges.
Weberman and the teenager’s father secretly videotaped her in bed with an previous boyfriend while she was still underage, which they took to the DA to file statutory rape charges against the man, both the defense and prosecution agree. The teenager threatened suicide, and the statutory rape charges were dropped.
Weberman’s defense argues that the new claims against him are in retaliation for the videotaping and statutory rape charges.
But Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Ingram found that argument “speculative and not supported by any facts.” He forbade any mention of the tape at trial.
The Weberman case has stirred up strong emotions in the Hasidic community, which numbers some 250,000 people in Brooklyn. It’s the largest such group outside Israel.
“The community felt we’re under attack because he’s supposedly a problem solver,” while the young woman had left the strictly religious lifestyle, said an acquaintance of the accuser.
Hynes, who had previously came under fire for not releasing names of Orthodox men accused of abuse, has said intimidation of victims and their kin is rampant in that community.
Weberman hails from a prominent lineage. One of his ancestors, Ben Zion Weberman, is credited with helping to establish the very first yeshiva in Brooklyn in 1917. “He is very well respected,” A.J. Weberman, a secular distant cousin who compiled the family history, said of the man facing trial.
The publicity this case and similar ones have garnered is beginning to shift attitudes in the Hasidic community, insiders say.
Awareness is on the rise, said Mark Meyer Appel, founder of the advocacy group Voice of Justice. “There is a major change happening,” he added.
With Simone Weichselbaum
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