May 17, 2006

Suit charges temple knew of molestation

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, May 17, 2006
BY EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- A lawyer who has handled priest abuse cases in Rhode Island filed a lawsuit yesterday against a Jewish congregation in Warwick, claiming a former religion instructor victimized other children before molesting a 12-year-old boy who was preparing for his bar mitzvah at Temple Am David.

Stanley Rosenfeld, 72, of Hillside Avenue, pleaded no contest in 2001 to two counts of second-degree child molestation and was given a 10-year suspended sentence. After violating probation, he was sent to prison for 18 months, court records show.

Yesterday, Providence lawyer Timothy J. Conlon filed a lawsuit in Superior Court on behalf of the victim and his mother, who are identified in court papers as John and Jane Doe.

The complaint claims that Temple Am David knew, or should have known, that Rosenfeld had previously sexually assaulted boys "by using positions of trust, including positions at other temples."

Posted by kshaw at May 17, 2006 06:50 AM