Brooklyn, NY – An accused Brooklyn child molester charged with fondling a boy inside a Boro Park Y six years ago still frequents the kiddie-packed center, the Daily News has learned.
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Arthur Samet, 48, was arrested in October and charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child beginning in December 2001 at the 14th Ave. YM-YWHA’s Jacuzzi, according to court records.
The victim, now 19, came forward last fall to report the alleged crime.
Officials at the Y were stunned to learn of the alleged incident.
“This is the first time I am hearing about this,” said Boro Park YM-YWHA director Ellie Kastel, who was shown court documents detailing the encounters by a News reporter.
“I am very disturbed that we weren’t informed. It is very important to us to protect our children,” Kastel said.
Asked if Samet will lose his membership, Kastel replied: “I will do what my lawyers tell me to do.”
Samet was arrested in 2007 on a charge of sexual misconduct, but the victim later refused to prosecute because of intense pressure from the Jewish community, police sources said. The case was later sealed.
In the current case, investigators wanted to protect the victim from outside influence and did not officially notify the YMHA, sources said.
Prosecutors took up the case even though it was six years before the teen came forward, because state law gives child victims of sex abuse up to five years past their 18th birthday to tell authorities, said a spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.
The teen told investigators in October that Samet molested him inside the Y three times, between December 2001 and March 2002. At least one instance occurred while they both sat inside the Y’s Jacuzzi, sources said. Samet refused to comment at a December court appearance. His lawyer, Richard Finkel, said Samet is a “family man.”
The issue of molestation has become more visible in the insular Borough Park community in recent months because of several arrests. Samet is the third man charged with sexually or physically abusing a child.
Please not that the Boro Park Y knew nothing about this and the authorities would not even tell them. You cannot take action if you are not told about an incident.
WOW!!! in the Y we also can’t sand your kids I guess they have to sit locked up at home……
maybe it would be a good idea not to announce the mans name on vos iz neias that the whole world should know its loshen hora! believe me court will take care of everything , this guy will be pu off the streets shortly any ways so why hurt the family even more ,im sure its killing them!
people in the community have been taklking about this for a while
the rabbis knew and told them not to do anything
My son’s yeshiva did not allow us to send our kids to the “Y”, and this is at least 8-10 years ago. Maybe the “Y” did not know about this specific incident but I think it was an “accident waiting to happen”. Do they have supervision at the pool? changing rooms? jacuzzi? One lifeguard is not sufficient supervision for the swimmers and the whole area.
No one under the age of 18 to be at the Y without parents or older sibling! no children to be in mikva without the father or older brother. Lav achbra ganev elu cheera ganev.
Wear dos he daven???
What’s his yiddish name?
As far as I know, He was thrown out of his beis medrish for a long time ago.
This story happened about 6 years ago and this man has been a model citizen ever since. Maybe we cut him some slack and just like Hashem accepts our tshuva every Yom Kippur, we should be dan l’kaf zchus that this man’s past is behind him?
#17 – used to be a time when frum yidden didn’t have a problem sending their kids to such places because they considered their fellow jews not to be strangers. times have changed and we need to be more vigilant.
he has not been a model citizen since then!! He is sick, sick, sick!!! he has been caught as recently as this october. Yes it is a nebech on his family but his name needs to be publicized and maybe the family will be shamed into getting him help.
you know, for all you people who can see into the future and know what this guy is thinking or what he will do, I wonder if you could come up with the lottery numbers the same way….
the fact is statistics show that child molesters tend to repeat such vile acts, whether or not they are afraid of punishment. If it’s proven that he actually did it, they should castrate the guy. If they’re not going to turn him over to the law of the land, he cannot be allowed to live normally – family or not.
And another thing, the fact that so many of these people are “protected” is a sick thing – people like this destroy the future generations of Yidden
look at the article again this happend “6” years ago, don’t you think that a man has a chance to change??
#25 , because I know this man and while I am not with him 24 hours a day, if he would have continued doing these things, it would have been noticeable. The only reason he was asked to leave his synagogue is because the story became public and the congregants faced pressure, not because he was continuing to do these things. The rate for re-occurrence is ALMOST 100%, but not in cases where the people went for therapy, as is the case here. So again, this happened a long time ago and this man deserves the benefit of the doubt, just like we all would want for ourselves.
#27 – please check your facts. he was NOT arrested as recently as october, and he HAS been getting help.
Not one comment takes into account that according to both halacha and the justice system this man is innocent until proven guilty. We are only allowed to be mekabel this loshon hora to the extent of protecting our children, but we are not allowed to believe the story as fact. There is no way that intimate details about his identity and whereabouts should be published . This is especially true because of the vigilante attitudes of many of the commentators here. It is probable that the rabbinic decisions to ” hide” this man’s identity are halochically correct and must be respected.
thanks
reply to #29 I’m in the same synagogue, and I say the opposite
31, i don’t daven in that shul and if that’s the case then i stand corrected.
Once a molester, always a molester!!!!!!! He might try to control himslef, but the sickness remains! Never trust a molster! NEVER!
Because I know him very well, and I know that he DID repent, he HAS been evaluated by a mental health professional and he HAS gone for help. Your information is incorrect and you need to really watch what your write because your words are more harmful than you realize.
“I will do what my lawyers tell me to do”
If this is how much the Y director cares about our kids, the people that pay his salary, the people who expect him to shelter them and make sure that they are safe – I have nothing to say
#34 -the rabbis did not cover up the 2001 incident! the alleged victim only came forward now.
I’m sure if someone would go over to any of the Y staff and tell them that something happened they would have investigated and removed the individual. There is no blood test or any other test to see if someones a child molester. The only ones we can have a claim against are those who knew about it and didn’t do anything like the da office. Why didn’t they tell the y what was going on so he could be removed???
O.K he’s getting help that’s but he doesn’t have the brains and/or the boosha not to return to the Y or any other such venue?that speaks volumes.
i know him persenly he did go for help and evreybody sould try to put himself in his shoe and then think what he would like sould happen
I am a family member of the boy he aledgedly molested last year, the reason they did not press charges is because of the backlash he was afraid of. The askunim involved including leading rav told him to press charges.the family was afraid of shiduchim, because all you people commenting want him to come out and press charges in court and then none of you would take this boy for your daughter. Don’t blame the rabbis we are all guilty if we would stay away from a boy or girl that was molested, we would not take him/her for out kids so they rather stay quiet
The arresst in october of this year is not something new it was for this story in the Y.
The last year story was not reported at all. the police caught them red handed by accident.
This person is going for therapy but still should not be around children alone ever.
The shul who expelled him did not do it because of pressure, because only very few knew about it then. It was done with the consultation of the rabbi, don’t think the rabbunin don’t care they do. Expelling a mispallel with a family is tough, and complicated, after all the wife and kids are victims as well so some consideration goes into the fact.
Think ch”v if your brother was caught you would scream spread his name let the family shame. Its not so simple, but his shul I guess felt they had no choice but to remove him
Once a molester, always a molester!!!!!!! He might try to control himslef, but the sickness will allways remain! Let not kid ourseld we all have problems, but we try to restrain, once you break that restraining part you will never restrain again.
Molesters can with therapy be under ‘control’. They can NOT get healed.
Firstly the Y was informed by the Boro park shomrim many years ago about this man. Secondly, he molested a boy and showed him videos just this past year.
He was arrested for kidnapping. A police officer caught him in the car with the minor. Thirdly, he was absolutely thrown out of his shul. The minor’s family was encouraged to see this case to the end. It was their own decision not to.
Mr. S. did not do teshuvah yet. The boys at the Y all know about and openly make fun of him to his face. He still insists on “working out there”.
He is a disgrace to his wonderful family. He does not, nor will he ever reflect on them.
People need to know form whom to watch out from.
His name is not written on his forehead so there is no way to know how to avoid this dangerous predator.
The only way to safeguard the public is to have his picture posted everywhere.
You will not get in trouble (in case he claims he was not convicted) because in the posters with his picture (you don;t say he is guilty but) just say he was accused of 3 molestations.
The Y has separate hours for men and boys. I don’t know how it’s possible that a 13-year-old was in the jacuzzi at the same time as a 42-year-old. Odd.
I have been involved in the mental health world OUTSIDE OF Brooklyn for 22 years.
the facts are, the community in question is trying to play catch-up. it’s good that you finally see that molestation is a crime. Mondrowitz destroyed a good part of your community. The people who protected him are just as guilty for the destruction he left in his wake.
a person who touches anyone in a way that is offensive NEEDS help. And help IS available. However, like any other problem, left untreated, the problem FESTERS. It is like Cancer. if it is caught early, and treated PROPERLY, the prognosis for normalcy is very high. If it is swept under the rug, or treatment is delayed, the problem grows. And then the problem can become a monster… completely out of control.
Teshuva is always possible. Elazar ben Dudai did teshuva after doing every imaginable sin, according to the gemorra. He literally died from remorse. If someone is remorseful on such inyanim, they are not walking around with their head held high. They are cowering in shame somewhere.
A repeat offender who is already an adult, is already long overdue for this process. It’s like a late stage diagnosis on cancer. Miracles do happen, though. I have seen it done. The person first has to first be shocked out of denial, and put face to face with the truth.
That means facing the victims, and expressing true remorse to them. If this guy “got help”, it would mean that his victims were the first to know that he got help. Apparently they don’t.
Then there is the punishment phase… where the sentence is handed down. In these situations, the victim has the opportunity to appeal to the judge for justice. In cases where there is true remorse, it is the victims who appeal for mercy. In case where there is no remorse… there isn’t much to say.
Without remorse, what is to stop a person from recidivism (recurrent anti-social behaviour)?
However… in such behaviours, remorse IS NOT ENOUGH. that is because such behaviour is driven by an unhealthy need. the only way to treat that, is to do very intensive psychodynamic psychotherapy. they have to understand what is going on inside, and address the ROOT of the problem.
Behaviour Modification IS NOT ENOUGH.
L’mashal:
Staying out of the sun after a skin cancer diagnosis is a good idea. However, it will not make the cancer go away. It has to be TREATED! Once treatment is under way, the patient will only be cured if
1. the doctor knows what the disease is.
2. the doctor knows how to treat it.
3. the patient listens to the doctor
4. HaShem allows the treatment to work.
If you have such a family member… daaven for them, for #4 . but don’t think that steps 1, 2, or 3 can be skipped. they can’t be. If you prevent a relative from getting real help from a real therapist, you are part of the problem. If the therapist tells the family that there is a problem in the family dynamics… many people don’t want to hear that. they want to believe it’s just a fluke.
So there you have it…
by refusing to face the truth about yourself, you prevent your brother, or child, or shul member from getting real help. and you join him in the rodef section of the shul. and you also perpetuate the horrible myth that once a child is molested, he is a victim who must become another aggressor. It isn’t true. Courageous kids and adults HAVE gotten help. Nobody would be publicizing this here if real help was pursued. Because the guy HIMSELF would have left the neighborhood from shame for at least a while. When a repentant person faces what they have done, they go through a terrible depressive state. It’s kind of hard to miss.
weeks r gana pass buy everything is gana b forgotten just like every other story but people who r moitse shem raa on other people need forgiveness to so please watch what you wright nobody is perfect in this world
and of course this man has family to don’t forget about them they didn’t do anything
To # 76
As For Your Moshol of Reb Elazar Ben Durdaya, it does not apply here at all.
Reb Elazar Ben Durdaya may not have been a Molester but if he was, his Teshuva ended with death and after Death Molesters don’t molest any more.
Consider Molesters “cured” only after their death.
So you can’t send your kids to certain yeshivos, mikveh, store, shul and now the boro park Y? Oy vays mir.
The sick keep on getting sicker.