Mother Says She Paid $12,800 to Ultra-Orthodox Jewish " Counselor" Who Allegedly Molested H
CBS New York
(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - The mother of a teenage girl who is accusing a member of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect of sexual abuse claims says she paid her daughter's alleged abuser, Nechemya Weberman, $12,800 for "counseling" services that the girl's school demanded she receive. The woman testified Monday that her daughter's Brooklyn school told her she had to send the then- 12-year-old girl to see Weberman - who was an unlicensed counselor - otherwise she'd be expelled from school, because she had questioned her teachers about their religion and had worn clothing that wasn't modest enough. Prosecutors say the girl was molested by Weberman, 54, for years. Defense attorneys say the counselor is the victim of a vindictive child, angry that he had betrayed her trust. The case has been a crash course for jurors about the customs and rules in Weberman's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, home to about 250,000 followers and the largest such community outside Israel. His trial has rocked their insular, tight-knit group, not only because of the shocking charges but also because the case is being played out in a public court and its guarded society strongly discourages going to outside authorities. Last week, four men were arrested when they allegedly snapped pictures of the plaintiff as she testified, then posted them online. And before the trial began, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes charged other men with trying to bribe the girl to drop the charges. The girl, now 17, testified that she and her family were harassed and shunned for coming forward; her father lost his business and her nieces were kicked out of school. The girl testified for three days about the abuse, detailing that Weberman forced her to perform oral sex and act out porn films. She said the abuse lasted from 2007 to 2010. "I wanted to die rather than live with myself," the girl testified. "I didn't know how to fight. I was numb." Weberman has pleaded not guilty to 88 charges of sexual abuse and misconduct. Defense attorneys said the girl fabricated the stories as an act of revenge because she had told Weberman she had a boyfriend at age 15, forbidden in her community, and believed he then told her parents. "There was only one answer," defense attorney George Farkas said. "Vengeance and revenge against Nechemya Weberman, and through this, to bring down the entire community." The defense questioned why she didn't come forward sooner, and tried to pick apart inconsistencies in her statement. She admitted that she talked with Weberman about other things, confiding in him about her doubts on religion. "It wasn't just touching," she said. On Monday, psychiatrist Anne Melzter testified that often children and adolescents don't come forward because they develop feelings for their abuser and they don't want to get the abuser into trouble. "They think it's their fault," she said. "They don't think they are going to be believed." The allegations surfaced last year when the girl told a guidance counselor at a different school that she'd been molested. She eventually went to police. The Associated Press typically doesn't identify people who say they are the victims of sexual assault. The girl, who will be 18 this week and was recently married, was shunned, she said. Her community, the Satmar Hasidic sect, turned against her for going to police and for accusing such a well-respected man, her family said. Newspapers decried her story, and a fundraiser was held for Weberman. Leaders of the sect have expressed support for him. But the girl has received growing support, and the courtroom was packed for days during her testimony. On Monday, her mother testified that she is a bright, loving, respectful girl, what any mother could wish. The girl and three other siblings out of seven in the family have since left the Satmar sect. "Do you still love them?" Assistant District Attorney Kevin O'Donnell asked. "Very much," she said.
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