Brooklyn, NY – Responding to criticism of his handling of sexual abuse within the Orthodox Jewish community, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes had strong words for anyone who intimidates victims and prevents them from seeking justice.
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Speaking on NY1’s Inside City Hall program yesterday, both Hynes and Rhonnie Jaus, head of the Brooklyn Sex Crimes and Special Victims unit, defended the Kol Tzedek program initiated in 2009, which does not publicize the names of defendants in such cases in the Jewish community, in an effort to get more victims to come forward.
According to Hynes, Kol Tzedek has been incredibly successful, with a total of ninety seven cases of sexual abuse being reported since its inception, while prior to its establishment, there were virtually no reported cases in the Orthodox community.
A visibly angry Hynes had strong words for those who accused him of favoring abusers over their victims.
“There is no concern for the victim in these communities,” said Hynes. “Everything is for the abusers and that is the horrible thing that we have to deal with. The only way to deal with it is by annoying some people, like Ed Koch, by seemingly giving preferential treatment by not naming defendants. We had no choice. The only way we can encourage victims to come forward is to have this protective shield that we will make every effort to make damn sure you are not gonna be identified and harassed .”
Noting that intimidating witness is a punishable offense, Hynes said that he has every intention of prosecuting anyone found guilty of intimidation adding, “one of these days I am gonna get lucky…that’s what you have to do. You have to be as relentless as they are.”
Hynes commented on the almost mafia-like pressure that can be exerted on victims not to come forward saying, “the level of intimidation is not found nearly as much in organized crime. It is extraordinary just how relentless these people can be.”
A new program being initiated next week in conjunction with the NYPD will investigate incidences of intimidation in an effort to break down what Hynes termed a “wall of intimidation.”
Jaus pointed to the much publicized Weberman case in Williamsburg as a shining example of the pressure that can be placed on victims within the Orthodox community, calling it “horrible.”
Hynes made it clear that anyone who attempts to pressure sexual abuse victims not to come forward will be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.
“I am dealing with a community, some of whom are absolutely hell bent on never allowing a victim to get the kind of justice we have available for them, and I won’t tolerate it,” said Hynes.
The district attorney was also firm in his position that statements made by the Agudah saying that teachers had to report suspected cases of sexual abuse to a rabbi, before going to the police, were incorrect. Mentioning Agudah executive vice president Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel by name Hynes said, “he said wrong,” adding, “once they are told that there is sexual abuse they have an absolute obligation to come to me.”
“There is no concern for the victim in these communities,” said Hynes. “Everything is for the abusers … It is extraordinary just how relentless these people can be …. I am dealing with a community, some of whom are absolutely hell bent on never allowing a victim to get the kind of justice we have available for them.”
Unfortunately, he is right. We should all — every single one of us — be ashamed of this support for child molesters and intimidation of victims and we must do everything we can to stop it.
This is the biggest chilul Hashem in recent history.
He’s exagerating in his comparison to the Mafia. But his points are basically true, and we have only ourselves to blame.
Does anyone know of one rabbi who has reported a suspected molester/rapist to the police?
It is a bushah vecharpah (shame and disgrace).
The —- is hitting the fan.
And we as a community are all going to an Asifa to talk about things which are not relevant to anyone attending. Amazing how gullible people can be unless those attending were intimidated by our leadership who promoted this travesty of an Asifa.
Hope is on the way … if the DA of brooklyn Charles j Hynes wants to save any part of his legacy he must prove himself to the community by meeting with advocates and act in a strong and clear message and help protect the victims from threats and intimidation….a total revamping of the KOL ZEDEK office and a full blown out campaign to the communites and yeshivas with a clear and strong message that children not politics comes first.
when you have mayors bloomberg and koch and all the major media condemming his office as well as victims venting frustation with his office HE MUST ACT NOW! OR………………
To me, those who intimidate witnesses into staying quiet are as guilty as the perpetrators themselves and deserve to spend their lives in cages with them.
It is nice to think that our community would have a way to deal with these things quietly, but it is just not the reality. Kolko, for example, is a rodef and should have been taken out years ago. Obviously, we can’t just go around killing people. So, you would think we would have a way to remove such cancers from our communities. But, no. These vicious animals who prey on our children and our grandchildren continue to feed like hungry vampires.
We have proven time and time again that we are 100% incapable of protecting our children without help from the civil authorities.
These child rapists will never stop their vicious attacks on the most weak and vulnerable among us.
We have to finally admit that we need the help of the civil authorities. Those who who intimidate and threaten families are no different than the mafia. They threaten parents, siblings, etc. I can only hope that these thugs, no matter where they find them, are put into the same cages with the perverts who violate and abuse our children.
the biggest problem is through the eyes of gentile, all the Jewish people as a whole are blamed that religion causes for war and hate because of there ignorance that sweep abuse under the rug and yet highest spiritual leader allows it to happen.
oy vey, if he really means it,then we are in real big trouble,90% of our rebbes and rabbonim will be behind bars
Listen. We can talk about almost anything. We can publicly defend Rubashkin and Pollard. No problem. However, when it comes to sexual abuse, especially with children, it becomes non-negotiable. If the prosecution has the evidence, they must proceed to trial. And we are not allowed to interfere. This fundraising event in Williamsburg is an abonimation. We, as a community, are shamed.
He is just talking tough to save his job. Hynes you’re still not doing nearly enough;. You only started talking the truth about the this shameful community after The Jewish Week, Forward, NY Post, NY Times, CBS2 started digging deep into your office and your collusion with the Agudah pedophile lobby and with various rabbis. When your office starts pushing the cases aggressively, when your office starts protecting witnesses and prosecuting intimidators, then the public can trust you again.
The only part that Hynes describes correctly is the frum world’s mafia style control and intimidation. In mafia cases it is easier to protect the witness by moving them to a safer location. In the frum world, there aren’t a lot of safe places for the witness. They get branded everywhere like The Scarlet Letter.
Talk is cheap, let us wait and see… often these “mafia intimidators” are very well connected.
“the level of intimidation is not found nearly as much in organized crime. It is extraordinary just how relentless these people can be.”
Rabbonim protectors of molestors, YOUR TIME HAS ARRIVED!!!!
why dont they start with the administrator of Torah Temima and the other “rav” that arm twisted the parents to drop the lawsuit. They had the audacity to compare these poor parents to nazis. For 30+ years Lipa Margulis and Yudi Kolko treated parents and children like nazis.
Get the facts mister!
The DA called for him to surrender. The Belzer Dayanim (as in plural) tried everything to put the case under the rug. Lately, they backed off because the yingerman is separated from the daughter of one their chushive yidden.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant, Hynes is only doing this because of the New York Timees expose has shine a bright light on the scandal of the protection by some rabbonim.
Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel comes out looking not very good at all in this interview.
Hynes is finally going to do his job now that the media has noticed.
This one of the reasons that the rabbonim hate the internet. It allows too many people to know about the wrong things that they do.
The rabbonim had to back off when the internet was used to spread the real politics behind the “Big Event” ban.
Had the internet been more popular among the frum community when the eruv ban was enacted, it too might have ended differently.
The rabbonim declare their attempts to ban the net is because of other reasons which are valid, but the ability to get the average yid on the street to find out what’s going on behind closed doors really frightens them.
This is a big trouble for our community all the mlosteros will be punished behind bars’ but there is a big problem in the american world that everyone could stand up and say something and it could be faulse like this story with weberman this victim is a drug eddict those days everyone knowes this faimly and know one will bealive this story cause of the background from this faimly altough everything could be true those days but this victim is a total oisvorf from the community.
You mean to say that the Internet in not the source of these problems???
I’m curious how any other community, say the blacks, would respond when the DA would state this “There is no concern for victims in black communities”?
Prepare your riot gear.
The main reason most victims won’t go to the police is that their lives are ruined without any intimidation, I’ve asked this question from many advocates for sex victims: Say your daughter is about to get engaged, she has an equal opinion on 2 boys, so she asks your advice, you know that one of the 2 was a victim of child molestation, what would your answer be???? That my friend is the reason why people hold back, add to it that most of our shidduchim are done by a vetting process by parent unparalleled to any police detectives, and there is nothing Hynes can do about or anyone else.
To #18 You are 100% right!! Gut shabbos!!
Finally their is hope, some light at the end of the Tunnel and nobody could have done it better for us, then all those ………….who arranged the Event and those came out to support, rather a suspected Molester instead of the real victim.(i know presumed innocent. but lets not forget. Unlicensed, self proclaimed therapist. Giving private therapy sessions for a young girl not once or twice, FOR YEARS. dont know for sure what went on over there. But if its one of them saying the truth im definitely not convinced its him)
At least we all got a chance to see it all in real live action what happens to a victim tat comes forward.
Let Charles Hynes take it from here
I just want to make a few things clear to DA Hynes:
1. He did NOT have to wait till now to make this statement. He should have made the statement as soon as he was appointed to office. The fact that he has come out now to say he will go after anyone who harasses victims and interferes with the investigation and conviction of a molester only proves our point that he has been in cahoots with the Rabbonim all along and was NOT looking out for the best interest of the victims from the get go.
2. I want to make this VERY, VERY clear. NO IFS, ANDS, or BUTS. KOL TZEDEK had nothing to do with ANY victim coming forward. The only reason that victims came forward and the reason that Kol Tzedek was formed to begin with, is because WE the supporters and advocates of abuse victims have given them hope. WE have empowered them to have the courage to come forward. It is the support of the advocates who have gathered together first in small groups and then larger and larger, more groups and even more, who have allowed victims to find their voice. Kol Tzedek was a guise to just slow us down and be a filter to help the Rabbonim take control from within the DA’s office. It is a bluff.
One more thing, when Dr. Ben-Zion Twersky was first appointed to this task force, he himself was threatened and harassed. What did the DA’s office do about that? I honestly believe that had HE headed up the organization, some good would have come of it. But no, he was harassed as was his family until he was forced to withdraw and decline. What did the DA do about that? ZERO!!!! What did the DA do about those who harass victims and their families or interfere with justice since he has been in office? ZERO!!! What will he do when the truth comes out about some of his staff members who for now will remain nameless but who know what they have done and what it cost many, many innocent neshomas? There is an issue of collusion and conflict of interest and he should look carefully within his own four walls and clean house before he makes announcements and promises he either can’t or has no intention on keeping.
Then maybe he should stop letting Bes Din decide Grand Jury cases, stop hiding the names of convicted child-rapers, prosecute the rabbis who pressure people to avoid the police, and jail everyone from mandatory reporters to witness intimidators for obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Tough talk from a coward and a craven political hack.
If Kol Tzedek helps the DA get more convictions by keeping things hush before and during the case, this should be a help -despite what Ed Koch and some others are saying about it. It seems there needs to be more help though for parents of victims with things like schooling alternatives within the frum community if they get threats for coming forward.
I really dont understand anyone who claims the internet is not a problem is not aware of how many marriage where destroyed because husband and/or wives where doing the wrong thing this is an issue that needs to be addressed and although i am not sure whether or not the event in citifield will address it there is an issue and it needs to be handled and abuse is also an issue that needs to be handled and there are quite a number of issues to handle but we can only deal with one at a time
Sadly, much of what is being emoted here, on both sides of the issue, are true. The GOOD NEWS is that now it is coming out in to the open. Bright sun light helps clense issues. If the DA, who is pretty good on virtually all other issues, decides to do the right thing in this matter, we have achieved tremendous accomplishments. I hope that the DA puts his best ADA’s on the Weberman case, as well as all other cases. A Weberman conviction will be proof positive that the DA has arrived. Everything else is mere footnotes and commentaries. Thank you to everyone for sharing in this conversation here and thank you vosizneias for your public service.
A child molester is a Rodef. Pure and simple. Therefore there is ni issue of Mesirah. If a person (Rebbe/Rov) knows about a molester and pushes it under the carpet they are guilty of Lo Saamod Al Dam Reiecha. The issue is very serious and is everywhere. In my community in UK the Rabbonim won’t do anything about it because of certain people pressuring them. The Rabbonim need to read the Torah and keep its laws like they tell us to do and protect our children. If they don’t do anything they will have to give Din V’Cheshbon on their inactions after 120 years
Many Raabonim are simply not educated on the extent of damage caused to the victim of sexual molestation.
On one side they see a respected person of the community, that will lose everything if people “found out” and his kids/ainiklach will have a very hard time doing shiduchem. On the other side a child that doesn’t even know what happened to them, yet.
They don’t know this child will suffer psychological trauma for the rest of his life! How could they not know this by now???
If you are a victim the best thing you can do for the Klall Yisroel is speak to you Rov, educate him to the trauma we go through. I have done it, and he was completely unaware! He was shocked to his core! He still thanks me profusely for helping him “understand” the issue.
May hashem help us all…