Brooklyn District Attorney Fires Back at Critics over Practice of Not Naming Orthodox Jewish Sex-Abuse Defendants

By Reuven Blau
New York Daily News
June 10, 2012

www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklyn-district-attorney-fires-back-critics-practice-naming-orthodox-jewish-sex-abuse-defendants-article-1.1093230

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes insists his policy is succeeding regarding not naming ultra-Orthodox Jewish sex-abuse defendants.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes shot back Sunday at critics of his controversial practice of not naming ultra-Orthodox Jewish sex-abuse defendants, saying, "My policy is succeeding."

Hynes came under fire at a Crown Heights town hall meeting for treating accused Orthodox Jewish sex offenders differently from other such suspects.

"If something like this happened in the Italian community, you would give out the names," civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel told Hynes.

Joel Engelman, 26, a victims advocate, made Hynes bristle when he yelled, "Your policy is failing!"

"My policy is succeeding," Hynes responded. "Anyone who expresses outrage is not being practical."

He told a crowd at the Oihel Nosson synagogue that since his so-called Kol Tzedek (Voice of Justice) program was launched in 2009, he's brought 130 ultra-Orthodox sex-abuse defendants to justice.

He said it was nearly impossible to prosecute cases when names of defendants were disclosed because the ultra-Orthodox community would intimate and ostracize victims.