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Brooklyn’s ultra-orthodox Jews support accused in child sex offence case

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Alex Morgan
WVoN co-editor

Brooklyn’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community has come to the defence of Nechemya Weberman,  a therapist accused of sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl who was sent to him for counselling by her parents.

The abuse went on for three years before the girl (then aged 12) told anyone that her spiritual counsellor, aged 53, was molesting her.

The girl has been called a slut and a troublemaker and her family has been threatened by other members of the community which held a fundraising rally for him in May.

The parents asked Weberman in 2007 to counsel their daughter because of concerns about questions she has been asking about the Jewish faith and their view that she was dressing immodestly.

The girl claims that she was forced to perform sex acts during these counselling sessions. Weberman has pleaded not guilty ahead of his trial which starts this month.

Samuel Heilmen, a professor of Jewish studies at Queens College illustrated the closed nature of the community in the Huffington Post when he commented:

“They think that anyone who turns over anyone to the outside authorities is committing a transgression to the community at large.”

The family of the victim claims they are being intimidated by some members of the community to dissuade them from testifying at the trial, including her new boyfriend Hershy Deutsch who claims he was offered $500,000 to convince her to withdraw her accusations.

When he refused he was threatened with the loss of his pizza restaurant kosher license and he also claimed that his landlord was under pressure to evict him.

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