Man who raped and sexually abused young victims beat them to ensure their silence
David
Glausiusz, 47, must sign the sex offenders register for life after
being jailed for 22 years after a seven-week trial Manchester Crown
Court
David Glausiusz convinced his victims they would not be believed if they reported his crimes
A man who raped, sexually abused and then beat his victims - to ensure their silence - has been jailed for 22 years.
David
Glausiusz, 47, must sign the sex offenders register for life after
being convicted after a seven-week trial Manchester Crown Court.
A sentencing hearing was told how he raped one of his victims, struck them with a piece of wood and stood on their stomach.
A
member of Salford’s Orthodox Jewish community, Glausiusz also cut off
one of his victims’ sidelocks, which the judge described as a
‘despicable act to cause him maximum humiliation and distress’.
He convinced his victims they would not be believed if they reported his crimes.
The court was told the victims were also threatened about potential repercussion in the community if they dared to report it.
Glausiusz, of Broughton Park, Salford , was convicted of three counts of rape of a boy under the age of 13.
He
was also found guilty of six counts of sexual assault against a child
under the age of 13, three counts of assault, and three counts of child
cruelty.
Judge Martin Rudland told Glausiusz he will spend half of his sentence in prison, and the rest on licence.
Compensation is set to be awarded to his victims at a further hearing, to be held at the same court within 28 days.
Judge
Rudland said: “Because of their youth and lack of understanding of
sexual matters all children had some difficulty describing what had
happened to them.”
Glausiusz was convicted after a seven-week trial Manchester Crown Court The judge commended the police officers in the investigation
for their work in bringing the case to court and supporting the
victims.
In an unusual move, nine jurors who had served during the trial came back to court to hear the sentence passed for themselves.
Police
were first alerted in April 2014, when a referral was made to Salford
Children’s Social Care raising concerns about a young boy.
Officers said after months of further enquiries, both locally and internationally, they identified a number of other victims.
Glausiusz,
of Leigh Road, was found guilty of recent and non-recent abuse against
his victims including children as young as seven.
After the
hearing, Det Ch Insp Alan Clitherow, of GMP’s Salford Borough, said:
“The astounding bravery shown by those who suffered at the hands of
Glauciusz has helped put a stop to his prolific and frankly evil
actions.
“We are determined to continue working with a range of
partners to safeguard victims and prosecute offenders and I’d like to
recognise the valiant steps his victims have taken to put him behind
bars.
“Tackling sexual and physical abuse of children and young
people will remain a priority for GMP but protecting children and young
people is the responsibility of us all.
“It is crucial that we
work together to identify individuals who prey on vulnerable children
and empower young people to speak up.”
An NSPCC spokesman added:
“Glausiusz is a clear danger to children and his calculated and
sickening attacks will have had a deeply damaging effect on his young
victims.
“His
lack of remorse, coupled with his attempts to evade justice by
intimidating his young victims into silence, is deeply shocking.
“Their
incredible courage in speaking out has helped bring Glausiusz to
justice and we hope the sentence will give his victims some level of
comfort and that they are receiving the necessary support to recover.”
The
organization representing the Jewish community in Amsterdam has severed
ties with Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs because of the Chief Rabbi’s
involvement in covering up child sexual abuse. This
is according to a letter by David Brilleslijper, Chairman of the Jewish
community of Amsterdam (NIHS), which was obtained by The Parool. (A
leading Dutch newspaper.) These
actions mark the first time that a Jewish organization has distanced
itself from the Chief Rabbi, after years of allegations of his
involvement in several abuse cases. Jacobs is chief rabbi of all Jewish communities in The Netherlands, except for the capitol Amsterdam, the Hague and Rotterdam. Several
parents came forward and testified that Jacobs urged them in 2012 to
not report to the authorities, the sexual abuse suffered by their
children at the hands of a teacher employed at the Cheider. Jacobs
warned them of “severe penalties” of falsely reporting crimes, and that
their children, the abuse victims, would not be able to find suitable
marriage candidates within the Jewish community. Because
of the delay in reporting to the police, the teacher suspected of
sexual abuse, Ephraim S, was able to flee to Israel where he became a
citizen. After
lengthy legal battles, he was extradited in 2016. On Wednesday he will
appear in front of a judge for the initial hearing of the case. Jacobs denied these accusations. He maintained that he followed the protocols of the education inspection. However,
this week it became clear from evidence of the Telegraaf and NRC
(Leading Dutch newspapers), that only after severe pressure from the
then Minister of Education, Marja van Bijsterveldt, did the school
finally report the abuse of Ephraim S. According
to Brilleslijper, there have been numerous attempts to engage in a
conversation with Jacobs regarding these abuse allegations, but the
Chief Rabbi ignored these requests. “With
great regret we conclude that you (Jacobs) do not want to engage in a
conversation about the allegations with the NIHS, therefore, we have to
suspend any contact with yourselves until such date where this
discussion takes place,” wrote Brilleslijper in his letter to Jacobs. Brilleslijper
added in writing that his community has suspended any contact with
rabbinical organizations where Jacobs fulfils any roles, and that from
now on they will only engage with Amsterdam based Rabbis. In
the meantime, the VVD (main Dutch political party) stated in
Parliamentary questions on this matter that the board and management of
the Cheider have been advised to step down. http://www.jewishcommunitywatch.org/dutch-jewish-community-distances-chief-rabbi-jacobs/
Jerusalem syndrome: Caught up in the rapture of God - The
syndrome “should be regarded as an aggravation of a chronic mental
illness, and not as a transient psychotic episode.”
Their study, “The ‘Jerusalem Syndrome’ –
Fantasy and Reality: A survey of accounts from the 19th century to the
end of the second millennium,” published in the Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences (1999),
aims to define this phenomenon and looks at nearly two centuries of
patterns of tourists who experience a temporary insanity and often
assume the role of biblical figures.
In Tel Aviv, a man claims to be the Messiah.
In Brooklyn, A Man Claimed To Be Yisroel Belsky (could be)
"Jerusalem syndrome” is a diagnosis commonly applied to explain the
behavior of certain unique “characters” who are sometimes seen roaming
the streets of the city.
Donning biblical garb, experiencing
delusions or hallucinations, taking on a different name, and refusing to
leave the city or Israel itself are some of the symptoms that are
considered evidence of this unusual affliction.
Is Jerusalem to blame for these episodes? Is there even such a
thing as Jerusalem syndrome? What is it about this place that has such a
strong and sometimes dangerous effect on some people?
The
phenomenon may have surfaced recently with the disappearance of a
British tourist during a visit to Israel several months ago.
Oliver McAfee, 29, disappeared while cycling the Israel Trail in the Negev at the end of 2017.
In
January, it was reported that McAfee, still not found, might be
suffering from Jerusalem syndrome, as police confirmed that he wrote
passages from the New Testament on several pieces of paper and rocks
that were found in the desert. The police added to the report that it
remained unclear if he had a psychological disorder.
The syndrome
is featured in an episode of The Simpsons, aired in 2010, where the
Springfieldians make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with their church
group.
While the episode is loaded with fun Israeli-based satire –
Sacha Baron Cohen speaking in Hebrew as an almost too accurate
stereotypical Israeli tour guide – and a Simpsonified Jerusalem, near
the end of the episode Homer has a spat with his devoutly Christian
neighbor Ned Flanders, and the scene cuts to Homer riding a camel in the
desert. Reaching the Dead Sea after a sandstorm, Homer passes out, face
first, in the Dead Sea and awakens to proclaim he is the Messiah, after
having a vision of being visited by talking anthropomorphic vegetables.
Homer
returns to Jerusalem, donning a toga made of a bedsheet, and makes
lofty prophecies. He is diagnosed with Jerusalem syndrome.
Homer
ends up on the Temple Mount, standing before Christians, Muslims and
Jews and calling for a new religion based on their shared love of
chicken, after which all of the assembled stand up and proclaim that
they, too, are the Messiah.
Satire often imitates real life, as
Homer’s portrayal isn’t too far off from the description compiled by
mental health professionals.
JERUSALEM SYNDROME made its first
appearance in the medical books in the 1930s thanks to Heinz Herman, who
was a Jerusalem-based psychiatrist and one of the founders of modern
psychiatric research in Israel.
However, the jury is still out on
whether the syndrome arises independently or whether those who are
afflicted with it had other preexisting conditions.
Psychiatrists
Eliezer Witztum and Moshe Kalian, who for decades have worked
extensively with patients suffering with this affliction, have concluded
that it’s the latter.
Their study, “The ‘Jerusalem Syndrome’ –
Fantasy and Reality: A survey of accounts from the 19th century to the
end of the second millennium,” published in the Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences (1999),
aims to define this phenomenon and looks at nearly two centuries of
patterns of tourists who experience a temporary insanity and often
assume the role of prominent biblical figures.
Jerusalem
syndrome, according to the study, is a behavioral phenomenon observed in
eccentric and psychotic tourists who have been visiting the Holy Land
and has been recorded since the beginning of the 19th century. The
syndrome “should be regarded as an aggravation of a chronic mental
illness, and not as a transient psychotic episode.”
The study
notes the spiritual significance of Jerusalem which has been embedded in
both Jewish and Christian messianic traditions. The syndrome is related
to this notion of Jerusalem being the center of the universe as well as
the location of the “end of days” or redemption, depending on whom you
ask.
Witztum was a full professor in the division of psychiatry
at the Faculty of Health Sciences of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
He is the director of the School for Psychotherapy of the Beersheba
Mental Health Center. Speaking with In Jerusalem, he explains that
nearly all of the cases he has dealt with through the years have proven
that a preexisting mental condition is the common thread of all of these
cases, and that when a tourist visits Jerusalem, this preexisting
condition is triggered in one form or another.
“It’s not a
disease but a cultural phenomenon,” says Witztum. “The Judeo-Christian
faiths have a lot of messianic prophecies that call on the tourists to
have visions, hear voices and go to the Holy Land and do this type of
holy work explained in the Bible; but when they get off the plane, it’s
another story.”
One of the triggers of the syndrome comes from unrealistic expectations before visiting holy sites.
“When
people land here, specifically on religious- based tour groups, they
have very high expectations of spiritual significance that were built up
prior to the trip; and when they get to these places and their
expectations are not met, they become disappointed, and this triggers
the symptoms of what is known as Jerusalem syndrome,” Witztum explains.
“Or
the expectations are built up so much that, upon reaching such places,
especially around the Old City, they become delusional and lose
themselves in the moment, triggering a psychotic or schizophrenic
episode.”
When this occurs, they most likely end up at Kfar Shaul
Mental Health Center, where Witztum has treated dozens of tourists
stricken with the syndrome.
“But when these people get to us,
nearly all of the patients have preexisting mental conditions on record,
and 50% of them are schizophrenic,” he adds.
He related the case
of a German chef who walked into a hotel, asked for access to the
hotel’s kitchen and spoke with the chef and the kitchen staff.
After
a while, he told the staff that he would be taking over the kitchen
because he was sent by God to prepare the “Last Supper,” as the end of
days was coming.
Naturally, the staff refused and a scuffle ensued, before the police were called.
The German chef was brought to Witztum, who treated him.
Although
this phenomenon primarily affects those of the Judeo-Christian faiths
when visiting Jerusalem, Witztum notes that similar patterns can be seen
among Muslims when they visit Mecca.
“So far, there has been one paper
written about this, but I believe this is just a hint of a much larger
phenomenon that can be seen in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.”
DEBRA
NUSSBAUM STEPEN, a Jerusalem-based licensed tour guide and former
psychotherapist originally from Los Angeles, has seen this phenomenon in
the clinical world and now also in her daily life as a tour guide.
“Walking
around the Old City, I have seen people speaking in tongues and having
ecstatic experiences in and near holy sites,” Stepen tells IJ. “You are
walking in the footsteps of Jesus or King David... and that brings out
the connection with the land and the person’s connection with their
spiritual side.
“I’ve seen the Christian pilgrim groups and they
are experiencing where Jesus walked, and the pastor reads them
Scriptures and it just clicks or something.
“You see the Nahman
guys singing and dancing – that’s not Jerusalem syndrome; that’s them
being them and it’s not crazy. Same thing with newly religious people
who dress in all white and dance fervently with their eyes closed on the
roof of the Aish HaTorah building [which overlooks the Western Wall].”
She
explains that diagnosing Jerusalem syndrome can be a slippery slope:
“It is very important not to misdiagnose something that could either be
considered psychosis or a spiritual experience.”
Stepen says that
people in their late teens and early twenties who are predisposed to
schizophrenia and other mental illnesses tend to experience their first
episode the first time they leave home.
“I have seen the sudden
change and stress of this experience, particularly among gap-year
participants, but this is not Jerusalem syndrome and should not be
labeled as such.”
“What we are dealing with,” says Witztum, “are
mainly the cases that are disturbing the peace: people who sleep on the
street or make a scene; but I believe there are more cases that are
going unreported.”
Well-known Torontonian charged with child sex assault
Phillip Kravetsky – who’s well known in Toronto’s Jewish
community as a family law mediator, psychotherapist, teacher, family man
and DJ – is being investigated by the Toronto Police Service on a child
sexual assault complaint.
The 51-year-old Torontonian was arrested on March 13, after police
were called in to investigate a claim that a child was assaulted in the
Lawrence Avenue and Bathurst Street area of the city.
Kravetsky is charged with sexual assault and sexual interference and is scheduled to appear in court on April 27.
Although police released Kravetsky’s photo and a request for
information from anyone who might have any details related to the case,
Toronto Police Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said that, “In order to protect
the identity of the victim, we cannot provide any further details.”
According to a police press release, Kravetsky was arrested by
members of the Child & Youth Advocacy Centre, a group that partners
child abuse investigators from the Toronto Police Service with community
and government agencies, including the Children’s Aid Society of
Toronto and Jewish Family & Child.
The age and sex of the victim, as well as when the assault allegedly took place, remains unreported.
According to the website for Kravetsky’s company, PCK Psychotherapy
and Mediation, he works with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney
General’s Mandatory Mediation Program, the Ontario Community Care Access
Centres and other organizations.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Kravetsky is an instructor at
Durham College in Oshawa, Ont., and previously worked at Yeshivas Binyan
Hatorah High School in Toronto as a counsellor, and at Yeshiva Gedolah
Zichron Shmayahu as a teacher. On Facebook, Kravetsky promoted his
services as a Jewish music DJ for bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and
other simchot.
Guila Benchimol, a PhD candidate in sociological criminology at the
University of Guelph and a security consultant for a number of Jewish
organizations, said she has received a number of calls from concerned
members of the community who were looking for details relating to the
case.
“Phil Kravetsky is a well-known community figure in Toronto. I had
never heard that it was an open secret that people knew about this, or
that there was any weirdness around him. He has DJed at community
events. People haven’t said, ‘Oh yeah, watch out for that person,’ which
does often happen when it comes to these issues,’” Benchimol said.
It seems like the community doesn’t wake up to this until one of their own is arrested.
– Guila Benchimol
She said it’s important for people to understand that although she
has never heard any rumours about Kravetsky and she is unfamiliar with
this particular case, “There is a process the police follow in terms of
an investigation before making an arrest, so if they are making an
arrest, there is a reason they needed to do so. Many times, these cases
are not isolated. There is usually a pattern or a number of victims,
which is why they make it public.”
Benchimol addressed the fact that many people often don’t believe the allegations at first.
“False reports do a lot of damage … but the false report rate is two
to eight per cent, and when it’s children, it’s four to six per cent.
Why do we rush to assume it’s a false report? For some reason, we forget
about the victimized party,” she said, adding that her experience is
that the general consensus is that sexual abuse doesn’t affect the
Orthodox community.
“It seems like the community doesn’t wake up to this until one of
their own is arrested,” she said. “If we want to become responsible
about this, we have to start noticing, not just when someone we know is
arrested – that is not the way to have empathy for those who are most
affected by these issues.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2922, or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or 222tips.com.
I’d
bet, these days, shortly after reading the headlines, you’ve thought,
shaking your head and muttering, something like: “OMG. We live in an
age of impossibly catastrophic stupid.”
You’re
not wrong. About a decade or so ago, hot on the heels of the financial
crisis, something happened — an old story began to be rewritten, as the
world found itself poorer once again. There was an explosion, somewhere
deep in the human heart, and a tsunami rippled across the globe — one
boiling and bubbling with every imaginable variety of stupid: human
folly, gleeful ignorance, self-destructive greed, reckless spite,
dim-witted cruelty parading itself as enlightenment.
And
so now a tsunami of imbecility is rolling like a slow-motion
thermonuclear bomb across the globe. Lightning bolts of foolishness
shiver down it. Smoke clouds of idiocy billow from it. Here
are the five kinds of stupid wrecking the globe — because your first
job, these days, as a human being, is to make sure you’re not being
turned into an imbecile by this wave of stupid, too.
Economic
stupid is nationalism, populism, or austerity, three words that
craftily mean the same thing. It’s the idea that “we don’t have the
money to pay for it!!”, whether “it” is school lunches, healthcare,
education, parks, libraries, media, or trains. Sure we have the money.
What do you think an era of zero interest rates mean? It means that
there is so much money sloshing around in the treasure chests of the
global economy, so much loot piled up by Jeff Bezoses and Bill Gateses,
that there is nowhere left to put it. Not a single place: all the
yachts, super mansions, and trophy castles have been bought.
Nada left
to buy equals zilch interest to lend at. Zero interest doesn’t just
means “societies can borrow for better than free and give everyone
healthcare, education, an income, and savings” — it means that if they
don’t, the economy will go right on cruising into oblivion, because that
money will go on piling at the top, instead of doing anything remotely
useful, beneficial, or necessary.
Now,
who’s the prime exemplar of austerity? America, of course. There,
thanks to four decades of people imbecilically destroying their very own
government, those very people live in rank indignity — they have no
healthcare, retirement, pensions, safety nets, and therefore, they have
no mobility, opportunity, stability, security, and therefore, quite
reasonably, they have no hope or optimism left, which is why they’re
turning to harder and harder drugs to numb the pain of it all. But see
the point: the nationalist says: “us first!!!”, but ironically, he only
means “them last!!” He is too stupid to invest in his very own society.
He wants, instead, to kick out the scapegoats, exclude the minority,
scorn the weak. But he doesn’t see that “us first” and “them last” are
not opposites — they quite often go hand in hand in a race to the bottom
of the abyss. Ah, only a true imbecile would confuse up for down...
Denial. Self-chosen ignorance. Socially constructed mass delusions.
Overweening folly. About the world, humanity, life, and each other.
Things will be OK, go back to normal. We stick our fingers and cry “LA
LA LA LA!!” at the merest mention of even the tiniest inconvenient
truth — quick, change the channel, unlike that person, unfollow. So here
are a few of those truths, now that I’ve got you in a position where
you can’t squirm away so easily.....
READ ENTIRE ESSAY AND APPLY THE EXAMPLES TO THE PEOPLE & CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND YOU:
Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, download the
PDF
(849 KB) of this publication.
Individual Responsibility to Report
Any person who has reasonable cause to believe that a child
has been subjected to abuse or neglect shall report the same to the
Division of Child Protection and Permanency by telephone or otherwise.
Content of Reports
The report, where possible, shall contain:
The names and addresses of the child and the child's parent, guardian, or other person having custody
The child's age, if known
The nature and possible extent of injuries, including any evidence of prior injury
Any other information that might be helpful with respect to the child abuse and the identity of the perpetrator
Reporting Suspicious Deaths
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.
Reporting Substance-Exposed Infants
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.
Agency Receiving the Reports
The division shall maintain, at all times, an emergency
telephone service for the receipt of calls involving a report,
complaint, or allegation of child abuse or neglect.
Initial Screening Decisions
Upon receipt of a report, the division shall immediately
take such action as shall be necessary to ensure the safety of the child
and to that end may request and shall receive appropriate assistance
from local and state law enforcement officials. The division shall
initiate an investigation within 24 hours of receipt of the report,
unless a delay is authorized based upon the request of a law enforcement
official. The division also shall, within 72 hours, forward a report of
such matter to the child abuse registry.
In regulation:
The central registry shall deem a call to be a report if it contains at
least one allegation that, if true, would constitute a child being an
abused or neglected child, as defined by law.
Child Protective
Services (CPS) shall start the investigation of a report no later than
the end of the work day or within 24 hours of the central registry
determining the timeframe. Each report that meets one or more of the
following criteria shall be investigated no later than the end of the
work day of receipt:
Law enforcement personnel request an immediate response.
An immediate response will prevent the loss of evidence.
A child has died due to abuse or neglect and a sibling remains under the care of a parent or guardian.
A child is born drug-exposed.
A child under age 6 is alone at the time of the report.
A child requires medical attention at the time of the report.
A child is being seriously physically abused at the time of the report.
Agency Conducting the Assessment/Investigation
CPS shall investigate each new report, regardless of whether
or not the alleged child victim and his or her family are known to the
department. CPS shall investigate each report alleging abuse or neglect
on a military installation, to the extent permitted by the base
commander.
Each child protective investigator shall request
assistance from and make every effort to coordinate investigative
activities with local law enforcement when conducting an investigation
and whenever:
The child protective investigator needs personal protection.
The nature of the report suggests it.
There is an immediately life-threatening situation.
Violence is occurring or is immediately threatened.
Each
child protective investigator shall, when conducting a child protection
investigation of a report in which law enforcement, a regional
diagnostic and treatment center, a child advocacy center, medical and
psychological personnel, or a multidisciplinary team is involved,
participate in the coordination of the following activities:
Interviewing the alleged child victim and the alleged perpetrator
Accessing appropriate investigative medical and psychological services
Making timely and appropriate linkages to treatment
Each
child protective investigator shall make information developed during
the investigation available on a timely basis to any party identified
above and involved in the case, within the limits of the law.
Assessment/Investigation Procedures
In conducting an investigation of a report containing any allegation, the child protective investigator shall:
Complete a safety assessment
Interview, in person and individually:
The caregiver and each adult in the home
In cases that had been open within the previous 2 years, the worker who is the most knowledgeable about the family
Each other child residing in the home of the alleged child victim
The
reporter and each other person identified as having knowledge of the
incident or as having made an assessment of physical harm
The alleged perpetrator
Read and review each available prior investigation relevant to the report
Complete
a child abuse record check of each household member and each other
individual regularly frequenting or living in the alleged child victim's
home
Conduct a criminal history record check to identify a paramour's record of criminal history, when the report involves a paramour
Complete a risk assessment
Observe the environment in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred or that poses a threat to the child
Obtain a medical assessment of the injury
In completing an investigation, the investigator shall:
Assess the strengths and needs of the caregiver and the alleged child victim
Confirm child care arrangements reported by the caregiver, when appropriate
Interview:
At
least two collateral contacts, including school personnel, child care
providers, witnesses, and community professionals who have first-hand
knowledge of the alleged abuse or neglect
Each person residing at the address of occurrence and each witness offered by the alleged perpetrator
Each investigative law enforcement officer working on the report
Each primary response law enforcement personnel called to the scene of the alleged abuse or neglect
Each physician and advanced practice nurse directly involved with the treatment of the child
Timeframes for Completing Investigations
The child protective investigator shall make the finding for
each report within 60 days of the report being received at the central
registry, except for good cause approved by the office manager. The
officer manager may grant extensions in increments of 30 days if the
child protective investigator is continuing efforts to confirm credible
information.
Classification of Reports
For each allegation of abuse or neglect, the department
shall make a finding on whether an allegation is substantiated,
established, not established, or unfounded, as follows:
An
allegation shall be 'substantiated' if the preponderance of evidence
indicates that a child is abused or neglected and the investigation
indicates the existence of any of the circumstances listed below.
An
allegation shall be 'established' if the preponderance of evidence
indicates that a child is an abused or neglected child, but the act or
acts committed or omitted do not warrant a finding of substantiated as
defined above.
An allegation shall be 'not established' if there
is no preponderance of evidence that a child is an abused or neglected
child, but evidence indicates that the child was harmed or was placed at
risk of harm.
An allegation shall be 'unfounded' if there is no
preponderance of evidence indicating that a child is an abused or
neglected child, and the evidence indicates that a child was not harmed
or placed at risk of harm.
The existence of any one or more
of the following circumstances shall require a finding of substantiated
when the investigation indicates:
The death or near death of a child as a result of abuse or neglect
Subjection of a child to sexual activity or exposure to inappropriate sexual activity or materials
The
infliction of injury or creation of a condition requiring a child to be
hospitalized or to receive significant medical attention
Repeated instances of physical abuse committed by the perpetrator against any child
Failure
to take reasonable action to protect a child from sexual abuse or
repeated instances of physical abuse under circumstances where the
parent or guardian knew or should have known that such abuse was
occurring
Depriving a child of necessary care that either caused serious harm or created a substantial risk of serious harm.
Leifer Demeaned By Wearing Not Your Typical Bracelets For Jewish Women - Grossman Said Initially That Was Punishment Enough!
BRACELETS FOR JEWS
Prominent rabbi withdraws support for alleged Australian child molester
Yitzchak Dovid Grossman expresses regret that
his offer of a home to a suspect awaiting extradition called into
question his mission to help at-risk youth
Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman
A prominent Israeli rabbion Monday withdrew
his support for an ultra-Orthodox woman accused of 74 charges of sex
abuse, including rape, while she taught at a Jewish school in Australia,
just a week after he had recommended to the court that she be place
under house arrest under his supervision.
“I am very sensitive to the pain and plight of children and adults who are abused,” said Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman in a statement explaining his decision to “completely withdraw” his involvement in the case.
“It is regretful that the current turmoil has in any way called into question that mission and dedication,” he wrote.
Last month,
the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s court ruled that it would delay
consideration of whether to extradite the suspect to Australia until a
psychiatrist could review her case. Her name is gagged in Israel by
court order because she has not been accused of committing a crime in
the country.
An Australian woman wanted in her home
country for child sex abuse crimes is seen at the Jerusalem District
Court on February 14, 2018
During a hearing last week, Grossman served as a character witness
for the defendant in the Jerusalem District Court, saying that “for her
to be in custody is a humiliation.”
He offered to host her under house arrest at his home, adding that if
she left the house “for even a second, we will take her straight to the
police immediately,” according to the Brisbane Times.
The judge agreed to release her to Grossman’s custody in the town of
Migdal Ha’emek, prompting harsh criticism from an activist who wants to
see her extradited to Australia and held to account.
The decision was overturned days later by the Supreme Court, which ordered her kept in police custody.
Grossman was criticized for attempting to shield the suspect. On
Monday, critics commended his decision to withdraw his offer, but
slammed him for failing to offer an apology as well.
“Once he takes full and unequivocal responsibility for what he has
done, we expect him to undergo an education process regarding the issue
of child sexual abuse, so that he will be better placed to address such
cases in the future,” victims rights advocate Manny Waks said in a
statement.
Dassi Erlich, who has accused the woman of abusing her when she was a
pupil, issued an angry statement after last week’s court decision was
announced.
The woman “has been released on bail based on some random rabbi’s
testimony that he will supervise her,” Erlich charged on Facebook. “If
Rabbi Grossman can have a voice, someone who is not a part of this case
at all, where is our voice?!”
Grossman received the Israel Prize in 2004 and the Presidential Medal
of Distinction in 2013 for having rehabilitated tens of thousands of
disadvantaged children through his educational work, which began in
1972. He was twice offered the position of chief rabbi of Israel, but
declined in order to focus on his position as head of a yeshiva in
Migdal Haemek.
“In these difficult and highly charged situations, I have had to find
a balance between my life’s goals for Migdal Ohr and the needs of
Israeli society,” he wrote in his Monday statement, referencing the
organization he runs for at-risk youth.
Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman seen during
a mass prayer at the Western Wall
While often lauded for his philanthropic work, this was not the first time Grossman sought to assist an accused sex offender.
In May 2016,
he flew to South Africa to offer assistance to Rabbi Eliezer
Berland, an ostracized leader in the Bratslav Hasidic sect who was later
convicted of sexual assault.
The suspect in the current case is accused of sexually abusing
children while she was a teacher and principal at a Melbourne school,
Adass Israel.
She fled to Israel in 2008, days before allegations of sexual abuse against her surfaced.
She was arrested last month on suspicion of obstructing court
proceedings and attempting to hide evidence of a case, according to a
joint Justice Ministry and police statement. She had been living in the
West Bank settlement of Emmanuel.
Israeli police have said she is feigning mental illness to avoid extradition to Australia.
Her lawyer, Yehuda Fried, said last week that the court ruled she
should be dealt with “in the realm of mental illness.” Fried said that
likely meant a years-long process before her extradition can be
reconsidered.
But Israel’s Court Administration later said that the court will
convene again on March 28 after a psychiatric evaluation has been
carried out, indicating an extradition decision could be made sooner.
She was arrested following an undercover investigation at Interpol’s
request and is suspected of obstructing Israeli court proceedings by
attempting to hide evidence.
A court previously stopped extradition proceedings after determining she was not fit to stand trial.
Malka Leifer, a former Australian school principal who is wanted in
Australia on suspicion of sexually abusing students, walks in the
corridor of the Jerusalem District Court accompanied by Israeli Prison
Service guards, in Jerusalem February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun.
(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
The details of the Malka Leifer sexual abuse case are frighteningly
familiar. They follow a pattern common to sexual abuse cases in faith
communities, whether Jewish or not.
Victims are silenced; sexual
predators are protected; and high-ranking members of the community do
everything they can to prevent news of the incident from getting out for
fear it will reflect badly on the entire community.
Defending the good name of the community justifies covering up the child abuse of rabbis, priests or mullahs.
Allowing
crimes to go unpunished and ignoring the suffering of victims – often
helpless children – is, in the eyes of the faithful, a small price to
pay to prevent the entire community from being disgraced.
Leifer,
former principal of the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School in
Melbourne, is wanted in Australia on 74 counts of sexual assault against
Jewish girls aged 14 to 15.
Until 2008 when Australian law
enforcers sought to arrest her, Leifer was shielded by the haredi
community in Melbourne from allegations that emerged of her destructive
behavior. Victims and their families were intimidated to remain silent
or face ostracism by the community.
These families, which have
internalized the norms of the ultra-Orthodox community, were wary of
being labeled a moser, a derogatory term for a Jew who turns to the
gentile law enforcement authorities for help against a fellow Jew.
Further weakening the position of the families was the knowledge that a
young woman who exposes herself as a victim of sexual abuse would have a
difficult time finding a husband within the insular ultra-Orthodox
community.
Meanwhile, Leifer was allowed to continue to cause pain and trauma to girls.
When
the community could protect Leifer no longer and law enforcement
authorities were on the verge of arresting her, Leifer and her family
were smuggled out of Australia to Israel by staff members at Adass
Israel. She found refuge in the haredi community of Immanuel in Samaria,
just north of Ariel.
In 2015, the Melbourne Supreme Court
awarded $1 million in damages to a former student of Leifer. Justice
Jack Rush said the actions taken by staff at the Adass Israel School to
protect Leifer and help her flee Australia were “deplorable and
disgraceful.”
Hadassah Ehrlich, one of three sisters sexually
abused by Leifer, told the court that at the time of the abuse, which
started in 2002, she was too fearful to complain because of the power
Leifer wielded in the ultra-Orthodox community. “She was seen as the
head of the school and the whole community looked up to her and
basically idolized her,” Ehrlich said. “She was seen as someone who was
holier than holy.”
Compounding the atrocity is that the State of
Israel is also complicit in obstructing justice. Leifer continues to be
sheltered in Israel, not just by the ultra-Orthodox community but by the
State of Israel, which has refrained thus far from extraditing her to
Australia.
In June 2016 – eight years after first arriving in
Israel – an Israeli court stopped the extradition process after a
psychiatric assessment found she was not fit to stand trial.
But a
police undercover investigation concluded last month revealed signs she
was feigning mental illness to avoid extradition. Leifer was jailed.
The court has asked for a new psychiatric evaluation but, inexplicably,
has yet to receive one.
In another outrageous twist to the story,
however, Leifer was released to house arrest after the intervention of
Migdal Ha’emek Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Dovid Grossman, who testified on her
behalf and claimed that Leifer was unfit to remain in custody. The
Jerusalem District Court agreed to release Leifer to house arrest
provided Grossman vouch for her adherence to court orders.
After years of foot dragging, it has become clear that the Israeli legal system is unable to process Leifer’s case fairly.
She must be extradited to Australia where her psychiatric status can be objectively assessed.
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There were angry scenes outside a Jeru
Sign in
salem court
after an Israeli judge ruled former Melbourne principal Malka Leifer
could be freed from police custody to home detention.
Ms Leifer is wanted by Victorian police on 74 charges of child sexual abuse, including rape.
The
former principal of the Addas ultra orthodox girls school in Melbourne
has been in custody since February 12 after Israeli police rearrested
the 54-year-old, accusing her of faking mental illness for the past three years in order to avoid extradition to Australia.
The court was delayed by nearly an hour to wait for the arrival of senior Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman.
Rabbi Grossman, who has never previously been
associated with the case, argued to the Judge Ram Winograd that it was a
"humiliation" for Ms Leifer to remain in custody and it would be bad
for her mental health.
He told the court his two assistants would
monitor the former principal and that they would "call police
immediately" if she left the address of the house arrest.
Rabbi Grossman told the Judge he "knows what jails are like" and he wants to supervise Ms Leifer to "save her life".
The
Rabbi is well known for his charity work in Israel and is a recipient
of the 2004 Israel Prize, generally regarded as the state's highest
cultural honour.
Judge Winograd set bail for Ms Leifer at $37,000 and ordered that she will be released on March 9 at 10:00am.
Victims not happy with release
Outside
the court, supporters of Ms Leifer's alleged victims yelled questions
at Rabbi Grossman, demanding to know why he had chosen to support her
case.
"What about her alleged victims?" former Melbourne resident Adam Segal yelled in the hallway at the Rabbi.
"If you want to help, put her on a plane."
Ms Leifer's alleged victims say they are outraged at the court's decisions.
"How
dare a rabbi come in and support her and talk about her humiliation?
And her mental state?
What about us?" former Addas student Dassi Erlich
said.
"Today's ruling is an outrageous travesty of justice. We are utterly appalled.
"An
official sign-off on the psychiatrists report was requested three times
by the court. The report remains unsigned. What is the reason for this
absolute failure of procedure?"
Ms Erlich said she and her sister have "tried
not to be angry with Israel" but they are outraged by how the court
allowed the Rabbi to present his opinion.
"This sounded like a third-world courtroom," she told the ABC.
"Why is his voice given precedence over all these other voices?
"Why has this random rabbi has does nothing to do with this case been listened to?
"What
parallel dimension are we working on here? A judicial system that shows
more concern for the humiliation of the defendant over the humiliation
of its victims?"
Israeli state attorney Matan Atikva told the ABC he would appeal the ruling to the Israeli Supreme Court.
