NYC Orthodox Jewish Counselor Guilty of Child Sex Abuse

CBS News
December 10, 2012

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57558292/nyc-orthodox-jewish-counselor-guilty-of-child-sex-abuse/

It took the jury about one day of deliberations to issue its verdict in the sexual abuse case of a prominent Brooklyn ultra Orthodox Jewish leader, CBS New York reports.

Nechemya Weberman, 54, was found guilty on all 60 charges against him for allegedly molesting a girl he was counseling over a three-year span beginning when the girl was 12, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.

The charges include sexual conduct with a child and criminal sexual acts, CBS 2's Tony Aiello reported.

Weberman showed no emotion as the verdict was read, Cornell reported. He was handcuffed and taken into police custody after the verdict was read, where he will remain until sentencing.

Deliberations began Friday but the jury was convened for just an hour. Monday's verdict came down around 2:30 p.m.

The defense had argued that the girl leveled the charges against Weberman as an act of revenge because she believed he told her father about her boyfriend, which is in violation of the rules of the insular Satmar community.

The accuser, now 17 and married, waited three years before telling anyone about the alleged abuse.

Earlier Monday, the jurors reviewed testimony from an expert witness on the question of why children delay disclosing when they've been victims of sexual abuse.

The witness testified that waiting to report sexual abuse is not unusual because the abuser is generally someone the child knows well or is in a powerful position. That gives the child a feeling of helplessness or social rejection, the witness testified.

The girl was ordered to attend counseling sessions several times a week with Weberman or be kicked out of school,Cornell reported.

The girl testified that school officials told her she was a "piece of dirt," Cornell reported.

The jury also heard a read-back of testimony from a licensed social worker who works with Orthodox Jewish children.

Sarah Fried testified that the teenage accuser did not open up to her about the alleged sexual abuse right away.

The therapist testified that she knew something had happened to the girl because she was anxious and depressed.

When the accuser did tell Fried about the sexual abuse, Fried testified that the girl could barely get the words out and then fled from her office.

The defense argued that the now-17-year-old accuser was so rebellious against the Satmar community that she should have been able to speak up about sex abuse.

The expert witness testified that the comparison was like comparing night and day, Cornell reported.

The accuser and Weberman both testified during the trial.

Weberman faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 9