Monsey, NY – A sex offender is making a second stab at challenging the constitutionality of a Rockland law that limits where he and other classified abusers can live in the county.
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Yoel Oberlander, 28, of Monsey argues in court papers that the county law preempts state law and therefore should be voided.
The Rockland County Attorney’s Office is defending the 2007 law as valid, since no New York state court has ruled on the issues being raised by Oberlander.
The county law prohibits high-risk sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, libraries, public pools, day care facilities or other facilities that cater to children. The law empowers police to investigate people found in those areas who are considered suspicious. People in violation of the law face a misdemeanor charge.
Oberlander’s legal papers, filed yesterday, will be dissected by state Supreme Court Justice William Kelly, who sits in the Rockland Courthouse in New City.
Kelly upheld the county law in July after an initial challenge by Oberlander and Betzalel Dym, 22, of Monsey on religious grounds.
Oberlander’s court papers cite a New Jersey court ruling voiding local living zones for sex offenders as conflicting with that state’s law.
Oberlander also argues the Rockland law is not consistent since it allows sex offenders to live within the 1,000-foot zones, if they had been there before passage of the law.
The Rockland law, he argues, also defies the state law’s desire to integrate sex offenders within the community, rather than creating enclaves within the county.
The Legislature adopted the law and County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef signed it, though there were misgivings concerning the effectiveness of the law.
Instead of being quiet, I guess he wants his name in the news again…
Why would this convicted creep not choose to sink into obscurity & hide away? Doesn’t he have any shame? What about his family? Sorry, I don’t know what he did, but it must have been bad if he’s convicted of such a crime. I just don’t understand him or his buddy.
I almost barfed on my computer.
This is sick. Do these people have rabbonim or families? are they not embarrased?
Vus gait fur in mein velt?! Tatte in himel helf unz.
I’m going to chazer todays daf and get to know my neshomah.
Moshiach zul shoin kimen.
this is crazy
are these two guys married or still single?
Why doesn’t Yoel just keep quiet? His Nov. 27, 2002 conviction for second-degree sexual abuse of an 11 year old girl was chillul Hashem enough, and he was only sentenced to 6 years probation.
Didn’t he realize this story would make the papers? If I were even accused of such proclivities, I would move away and hide.
They should be proud they aren’t “living” in prison. Sick! Sick! Sick! These people should not be allowed to reside in let alone walk among human beings. Send them to the zoo – then send them to experimental labs to live with their cousins, The Rat.
y do u people dont understand a few months ago all the rabbonim came a against somone with the name NUCHEM ROSENBERG u remember him ? now his agenda was to fight against this evil un-human beings and unfortunitly our dor was not zoiche to him and he was forced to close down ( RABBI NUCHEM IF U READ THIS MESSEGE THAN I AM TELLING U PLEASE OPEN UP AGAIN WE NEED U DESPORATLY) so now if nuchem is rong per the rabbonim than all this SIKOS or right so they want to be treated as if nothing ever happened and be close to school so they whold be able again…….
That’s what he did & he only got 6 years probation?? You get more for dropping an apple core on the street. Shame!
Dov Hikind, isn’t this for you?
Tell you what Yoelish. Chop off those long peyos of yours along with another of your vital appendeges and we’ll get you an apartment right above a daycare center. Sound good you miscreant?
“Why doesn’t Yoel just keep quiet? His Nov. 27, 2002 conviction for second-degree sexual abuse of an 11 year old girl was chillul Hashem enough, and he was only sentenced to 6 years probation.”
If he is on probation for 6 years – isn’t the 6 years over next month – why open a can of worms?
I have some direct knowledge on both these offenders. They both may have been charged for offenses commited while teenagers. At least one explains that he learnt this “art” from others in the mikva and that it was r”l commonplace. Both claim that it was thoughtless acts commited as immature juvenile-like semiadults. They long regret the deeds they did, and yearn for some normalcy by living with parents. The parents have lived in these areas for some time and besides, the management of these child facilities have stated in court that they have no problem with these 2 convicted guys living around children. I tend to think that those responsible for the safety of numerous children and state the above in court are the real problems we should turn our attention to.
post probation he still is a regestered offender and is bound by these rules FOR LIFE. I don’t envy his life!
Folks, this is what happens when the blind lead the blind; the so called ‘rabbis’ have time and money to ban an innocent concert promoter with big newspaper ads, but not for an animal like this. May this problem happen to these so called ‘rabbis’ tenfold, and then maybe they will understand what the real issues are. Shame on them and shame on those who support them and trash like this!!
yo #12 lol u cracked me up… …”can of warms” he he
its a case of the creeps are fine around kids-your kids, NOT MINE!, Best place for them is to live on a park bench, hey whats so bad about it, at least you can vote, oh sorry you cretons are convicted felons–can’t vote.
The picture looks like it’s straight out of Lord of the Rings, lol.
For how long will he be considert a sheigetz and we can talk bad on him?
Maybe he did tshuva alredy?
Instead of bashing him lets help him out such as raising money to get him a phyciatrist/physiologist so he can start a new clean life?
Bottem line!! he is a jew, yes he need to be punished but we still have a obligation to help him. SMOIL DOICHA VEYMIN MEKARVES.
ewww..keep him away from me, please!
They should let him live in a frum old-folks home.
I am a personal friend of Oberlander, a father of 7 children which really worries for the safety of my children & I have no problem for him to visit, eat, sleep, at my house. Yoel was never a CHILD molestor, he has taavos like a lot of us & is a little foolish, would he have been more chevraman, he wouldn’t have gotten to this point, I feel terrible for him that his name & picture is on this website & so would all you readers feel about him if you knew him (even his ex wife and ex shver)
This man did indeed commit a crime, maybe a really yucky one, but it was while he was almost a kid, and 6 years ago.
When do we stop this hatred and persecution?
Everyone who knows him vouches for him, and says he did teshuva.
Let’s stop being mean people.
Is this the way Jews are supposed to be? Filled with hatred for those who made a mistake? Unwilling to forgive? This makes me embarrassed to be a member of a people who are so mean, uncaring, and unforgiving.
I don’t understand. One of you says he did this when he was a teenager and the other one of you says he got married and then divorced. What happened to the marriage if his wife left him? I’m thinking his issues are not teenage issues. Also, why would one of you call molesting a 7 year old “Taavos???” Those aren’t normal Taavos. And, last I checked, there aren’t any little girls in the Mikvah so how the heck would he pick this habit up there? Nope. Bottom line. He can live in a less heavily populated Chasidish neighborhood with less kids around. There are options for him.
Our point to you is the following: we don’t know if he did Teshuva or not. That’s not the point. The crime was not according to “regular Taavos” which wouldn’t have been a crime. So, it is a concern. Studies show that whatever motivated them to do this kind of thing in the first place motivates them to repeat and repeat. Because of this, he should not be living close to young children. He can still be Shomer Torah U’Mitzvos and have contact with his own family while living elsewhere. That is what our children deserve. We are Makpid on their safety. His Teshuva is between him and Hakadosh Baruch Hu and does not have anything to do with the practicality of whether his kind of “taavah” is likely to repeat or not. It just is likely to repeat. That’s what the numbers say. Got it?
I’ll give you a scenario that you are more likely to understand because it involves things instead of people. I think if Finkel’s friend told you he did Teshuva, you would say “Maybe so, but I’m not letting him near my chicken!”
To number 29: What’s wrong with a little Galus for a while? The guy is still pretty close in time to his crime. Why can’t he follow the rules quietly for some more years and then revisit the situation? Why does he have to have his way and his comfort right now, this minute when the law has told him “no?” Why this minute do you think he needs to be near a daycare? Hashem should bless everyone with long lives, he’s got time to work on himself, some years need to pass before he merits asking for this. And, if you are so willing to forgive him because you know how common the molestation issues are in the community, then maybe a little Galus for a few of these people will get the word out to everyone else that the community doesn’t tolerate it anymore. Get it? It has to stop somehow and if you treat every molester with all this loving care, you won’t be sending the message that good Yidden won’t stand for this stuff.
A MONSEY JEW – He may “have taavos like a lot of us”, but an 11 year old girl? That’s inexusable. An adult woman would have long lasting psycological problems, but think of the nightmare for the 11 year old and her family. Such encounters tend to have a life long effect on such a victims future adult relationships. If it had been your daughter, you know that you would view it differently.
I found the convicted man’s claim in the newspapers that as an orthodox Jew he must live lose to a synagogue astonishing. Why didn’t he think of his responsibility as an orthodox Jew not to engage in what he was convited of?
Yes, but…. his crime was 6 years ago. He has not repeated it. He has been a good boy for those 6 years.
6 years may seem to be a short time to me, as I am much older. But to him, it is almost 1/4 of his life. Actually it is a much larger portion of his adult life.
Many people of all backgrounds do gross things as teens or very young “adults” which we deeply regret and wish we could make disappear as if they never happened.
I know a few people, find people who did a gross thing or two at an age similar to his, and they keep thinking about those actions every tachnun, and every slichos, and every Yom Kippur during Ashamnu Bogadnu. Sure, they were lucky, they were never caught, and NEVER repeated those actions, and NEVER WILL REPEAT them. But, they confessed them to me in talking about teshuva.
I would trust any of them with my own kids or with my grand children now.
I do understand the concept of, “Maybe he did teshuva, but I will keep my kids away to play it safe.” That is not invalid, if you don’t know him or trust him well enough to feel otherwise. But to continue with hateful words, and actions, and showing his photo in public like this is not only cruel to him, but cruel to his family.
Can you imagine how humiliating it is to his family every time his photo and name is posted and he is attacked?
And, how long do we not allow him to visit family or rov or a shul or beis medrash that is “too close to children”
There was a middle-aged man in my shul, who was accused of something like this back when he was 20. He regretted his behavior and did teshuva, and never repeated his actions. But, for the rest of his life he has to register with the police every time he moves. He joined our shul when it was mostly older people, and there were few if any kids. Then, over the years, young families moved in, and the shul opened a pre-school. This occurred when he was 50, 30 years after his “crime.”
Well, one day the police came to check up on him, since he had given the shul as a place where he hangs out to learn. They came to do one of their “visits” where no one is supposed to understand why they dropped in to check up on him. Well, when they realized the shul now has a preschool, they arrested him.
At the time, his was simply sitting learning with his chevrusa.
The punishment for these crimes is beyond anyone’s comprehension. It is a life sentence of humiliation. When the police officer took him away, he, the officer nearly cried, as he knew this guy was a safe person, and that his position in the community was now ruined, but he did not know what else to do. He had to obey the law. He apologized to this man, and whispered to him, “Walk to the police care outside, and I will follow in a few min. I will go and use the bathroom first.”
How did I hear? I was the chevrusa. The officer then quietly begged me to not lose my respect for my chevrusa. His words were, “This man, as you know, made a mistake many, many, years ago, but the new laws punish him for a lifetime. I wish I did not need to do this. He is a good man.”
All I am asking from all of us, is to try to be more compassionate, and to try to stop humiliating him and his family.
There is a certain other heimishe blog which pulls out a photo of another of our fellow Yidden who misbehaved in the past. They pull his photo out and begin a post about him every time things are slow and they want to bring action to their blog. All this with no thought to the harm and damage it does to the poor man’s family
Remember, the family consists of totally innocent people, who are hurt and damaged every time we publish these kind of stories.
No one is saying, G-d forbid, that we should allow or condone this kind of behavior, but isn’t there a limit to the punishment. Even malkos must stop at 39!
go ahead, let ’em loose in YOUR “candy store”. what about dont put a stumbling block before a blind person??
Many perpetrators of these kinds of things do not repeat. Especially when they are done at such a young age.
Also, what did he do? What is 2nd Degree sexual abuse? Obviously, whatever he actually did was not severe enough to put him in prison. He was given probation only. There alone is some indicator of something to do with the original circumstance. Certainly any sexual misbehavior is bad, but there are degrees. and he was almost a kid himself. Most heimishe men of 21 are barely at the maturity level of a goyishe 16 year old in these matters.
Feivel, remember at his age at the time, it was not much different from one kid playing doctor with a younger kid. Many Chassidish boys are not all that mature yet at that age. Yes at that age. Should he never be able to live close to a shul again?
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.
Isn’t 6 years enough torture for the kid?
Lets get the facts straight here.
The rate of recidivism for child molesters is almost 100%, which means he will almost likely hurt another child again.
Whether he has done t’shuvah or not is irrelevant. That is between him and god. He still has to settle up with the rest of the world, and if he molested an 11 year old girl when he was 20 years old, he is a pedophile, not a curious, straying teenager.
***That means he is still a pedophile today, and will ALWAYS be a pedophile.***
To the poster who says he lets this guy eat, live and sleep near his children, you are an irresponsible parent, and any crime against your child is now solely your responsibility. Although, i imagine if one of your children came to you and told you this guy touched them, you wouldn’t even believe them, since he’s a good man and has done t’shuvah
If anyone is interested in more information on his crime, you can view his entry on the New York Sex Offendor Registery, which classifies him as risk level 2, which is medium risk
http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/cgi/internet/nsor/fortecgi?serviceName=WebNSOR&templateName=detail.htm&requestingHandler=WebNSORDetailHandler&ID=340576729
Six years ago he was 22. Why is everyone calling 22 a kid??
To #34
You write it beautifully, & I must say I thought about what you said. I believe YOUR story, but for every 1 molestor who never repeated, there are thousands, if not more, repeat offenders. These are sick people who are very good at not being caught. So I have to vote for caution, Cherem, & anything else we need to do to protect our children.
He was a married man when he commited the crime.
Question to all those law abiding poeple, you say his tshuva is between him and god therfore he is still an offender, how about his case should be between him and the court and not here to wash his dirty laundry, since we are Jews, I thing we should accept that he did tshuva.
Once again pity pity pity the perpetrator and utterly ignore the victim.
Those of you who say most of these people don’t do it again are ignorant. Every study conducted said otherwise. Those of you saying he’s suffered enough, 6 years of probation is suffering? Let me know when the victim gets a switch to turn her suffering off after 6 years.
Everyone keeps whining about Rosenberg and Hikind. They’re worthless until the community itself changes their outlook on things. Stop pitying the poor pervert nebach. Oy he’s such a mensch! He learns now! What good can community “leaders” do for us when the average people seem to completely ignore the real issues and just make excuses for perverts.
And our rabbis? Busy with wigs, shoes, concerts, and the latest outright stupidity… flour sifters. Way to go, that’s obviously more important than the safety of our children.
Chevra-I also worry but the probation may be a sign that he was not a molestor but stupid curiosity of teenager. If definitely not a molestor he should be supported. If he is, castrattion is warranted. But do we really know true facts?/
THIS IS AN AVEIRAH BEIN ADOM LACHAVEIRO SO ALL OF YOU WHO SAY HE DID TESHUVAH ARE LYING BECAUSE HE DEFINITELY DIDNT ASK THE VICTIM MECHILA!!!!!!!!!!
Right on #58 …… He should be kept away from his own children as well. Pedaphillia is a Disease that one suffers with for a lifetime!
I was arrested once, not for this type of thing. The police officer understood that I was not a risk, and also whispered that I should walk to the car. In cases where the person is not a flight risk, or a risk to harm anyone, this IS done. In my case it was over failing to appear. I had forgotten to appear at an appeal on a traffic misdemeanor. Sure, he cuffed me before bringing me into the Police Station. He pulled over about 1/2 mile before the station to cuff me. Some cops are nice, and know whom they are dealing with.
Post 53 is way out of line. Yes, his teshuva is between him and his Maker. Absolutely, his crime is between him and society at large. If you were a lawmaker perverts would be free to roam and troll for more innocent neshamos to destroy. Let’s hope your civic duty is limited to voting.
The law cannot be carved out for individuals. And especially laws designed to protect our children, should be designed with all care and consideration for them, regardless of what inconvenience those convicted of these crimes experience. The consequences of these crimes and their impact on the offenderss concern me far less than protecting our children. So if this guy has to walk 5 miles to shul on shabbos, whether he himself is a repeat offender or not is irrelevant – if that same law protects us and our kids from anyone else also guilt – then let this guy walk.
There were no perve lists and reporting 30 years ago, but vindictive ex-wives making out new reports to the police department of an ex’s new residence, CAN make them include him in the restrictions. Not fair, but that is how it is in many areas. Not even constitutional, I believe, but still done.
I live over 1,000 miles from NY. I too know someone who was harassed by police, even in shul for an incident which supposedly happened many years ago in NY.
They even publish their local perv list on the Internet, making it hard to even get an apartment to live in. This poor man had no life. He was finally able to get a ticket to move to Eretz Yisroel and start a new life.
Oh here we go again with the “ex-wife” card.
First of all, it’s not the case here at all.
Second, even if it was, consider this scenario: You’re a woman who’s been married for a few years, you have a few kids with your husband. One day you get a phone call and find out that the person you are married to has been molesting children, maybe some that are similar in age to your own children. Do you stay with him? Of course not. No normal person would. So obviously when a married man is exposed as a child molestor there are going to be upset ex-wives. Do you expect the ex-wives to speak highly of a man they divorced for being a pervert?
Just another excuse.
i think sex offenders should be castrated and ostracized, and the jewish community should take action aghainst these people as well. imagine that what he did happened to your child.
Why are these people wanting to live near schools and children anyway? Are they having molestation withdrawal?
this is bs. how can this happen? AGAIN? you know what…maybe its good that its being published….there are many sex offenders out there…this might just scare them a bit.