Equal Protection under the Law Wins a Big Victory in Brooklyn

New York Daily Nes
December 11, 2012

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/brave-young-woman-article-1.1217246?localLinksEnabled=false

Prominent Orthodox leader Nechemya Weberman (center) at State Supreme Court in Brooklyn after being found guilty of 59 counts of sexual abuse.

The conviction of a prominent member of Brooklyn’s Satmar Hasidic community on 59 counts of sexually abusing a schoolgirl stands as an important use of the criminal law in a defiantly insular culture.

A jury credited her description of Nechemya Weberman as a predator, and it rejected his claim that she had accused him in revenge for a scheme to have her boyfriend charged with statutory rape.

Based on the evidence, the finding appeared a well-justified conclusion for which punishment must, and will, be severe. That said, had the jury acquitted Weberman, the case would still have been a landmark. On its own, trying him established that the law will be equally and fairly applied to all.

Weberman’s young victim showed enormous courage in pursuing the prosecution.

When she was but 12, teachers and administrators at her Orthodox Jewish school became concerned that she had grown rebellious, a quality not surprising for her age but deemed in her world to require remediation. School leaders insisted her parents send the girl to Weberman, who was highly regarded as a youth counselor although he had no secular credentials as a counselor or therapist.

Over the coming years, she testified, Weberman demanded oral sex and forced her to reenact scenes from pornographic films.

When the girl approached authorities, she did so in the face of furious opposition to inviting law enforcement into the community — a resistance that led to covering up other sexual abuse cases, as well as to a failure by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes to aggressively prosecute.

As Weberman’s trial approached, the neighborhood was plastered with leaflets rallying support for him, promoting a fund-raiser for his legal defense and comparing his victim’s cooperation with police to a rocket attack on Jews.

She stood strong and, this time, so did Hynes, to his credit. There were clear attempts to intimidate the girl even during the trial, producing three arrests. Hynes warned after the verdict that she and her family must be left in peace.

Her bravery deserves admiration, and her tormentors must bear the full weight of the law so other victims of other crimes among the Satmars may be encouraged to seek justice.