You’re a sex offender? You can work in a New York religious School!

 How prevalent is child sex abuse in our schools? 

 

Exact numbers do not exist, but there are credible estimates. A 156-page and well-publicized 2004 U.S. Education Department report, “Educator Sexual Misconduct”, authored by Prof. Charol Shakeshaft, estimates that 9.6 percent of all k-12 students are sexually abused by school personnel. The report makes multiple recommendations for preventing abuse – including, mandatory job applicant fingerprinting in all public and private schools. 

by Elliot Pasik

 

9.6 percent of all k-12 students are sexually abused by school personnel.

....Meanwhile, society has changed. Today, the U.S. Justice Department describes its “Project Safe Childhood” as a “nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse”. Arrests and convictions of child sex abusers are a daily occurrence, duly reported in the media. A typical headline is, “More than 100 NYC educators accused of sexual relationships, communications with students as DOE finally mulls a crackdown”, N.Y. Post, January 25, 2025.

This situation did not exist in the 1930s nor prior.

Currently, there are 800,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. There are 40,000 in New York State. These sex offenders represent persons who have been convicted of serious sex crimes, served their sentences, and are released into society as registered sex offenders who can be identified on public Internet registries.

The intense public focus on child sex crime, particularly occurring in schools and houses of worship, first began in 2002, when the Boston Globe newspaper exposed child sex abuse in religious schools and houses of worship. Victims spoke up loud and clear. Many state legislatures swiftly responded with “Megan’s Law” sex offender registries, mandated child abuse reporting laws, mandated child abuse education for school employees, and job applicant fingerprinting. Statutes of limitation for both criminal and civil cases were relaxed or eliminated. The New York courts are now filled with thousands of child sex abuse cases. 

The private Jewish schools are especially lagging in fingerprinting their job applicants. There are about 325 private Jewish schools in NYS, educating 140,000 children, and according to the State Ed FOIL response, only thirteen Jewish schools are fingerprinting – Abraham Heschel, Emet Classical Academy, Hannah Senesh Community School, Kulanu Academy, Leffell, Luria Academy, Manhattan Day School, Mazel Day School, North Shore Hebrew Academy, Ramaz, Shefa, Shema Koleinu, and Stella K. Abraham. (ALL NON-ORTHODOX)

Meanwhile, the web sites of the ultra-orthodox Jewish group, Agudath Israel, and the modern-centrist, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, are silent for job applicant fingerprinting.

The Orthodox Union silence is particularly puzzling. In 2013, Yeshiva University retained the big law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to investigate, report upon, and make recommendations as to the sex abuse occurring at their Y.U. high school. The law firm issued a 53-page public report specifically recommending the fingerprinting of all job applicants.

As a keen observer and participant in the legislative process in New York, I can testify that progress has been slow. True, some very helpful laws have been enacted, but work remains. What work? I will explain.

 

About the Author

Elliot Pasik is a graduate of Cardozo Law School, Yeshiva University, J.D.; Clark University, B.A.; Bronx HS of Science. He is a civil litigation attorney, and resides in Long Beach, NY. He has published several articles on child abuse. Notably, Elliot is the original and successful proponent of New York's first employee background check law for religious and nonpublic schools, enacted in 2006. He is also co-founder and president of a small nonprofit group, Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, which advocates for child protection legislation in our faith communities. He may be reached at efpasik@aol.com.

 

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