Vic Jewish Centre Member Guilty of Rapes

9 News
September 17, 2013

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A former member of Melbourne's Jewish Yeshivah Centre has been convicted of raping a teenager and pleaded guilty to sexually abusing eight other boys.

David Samuel Cyprys, 45, was convicted of five counts of rape against the 15-year-old when he was associated with the Yeshivah Centre.

A Victorian County Court jury last month found Cyprys guilty of raping the boy, but a blanket suppression order prevented details from being reported until all the bans were lifted on Tuesday.

Cyprys was aged 22 and 23 when he raped the boy in 1990 and 1991.

He also pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sexually assaulting eight other boys.

The boys were aged between seven and 14 and were students at the St Kilda Orthodox Jewish school Yeshivah College when Cyprys touched them inappropriately.

The court heard he paid one boy $20 to expose himself and forced two other boys to kiss him during a children's game.

Cyprys was associated with the Yeshivah Centre as a locksmith, karate instructor and youth group leader when he assaulted the boys.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault, four counts of procuring an act of gross indecency, two counts of gross indecency and one count of attempted indecent assault.

Manny Waks, the head of victims advocacy group Tzedek, said Cyprys' conviction and guilty plea was a milestone for the Australian Jewish community.

"We have another perpetrator in our midst who has been held to full account, which is a remarkable day for justice," he said outside court.

"We acknowledge and thank the very courageous victims for coming forward."

Cyprys is the second child abuser to be linked with the Yeshivah Centre, an umbrella group which includes Yeshivah College, a synagogue and a bathing house.

Former Yeshivah College teacher David Kramer, 53, was sentenced to three years and four months in July for groping four boys between 1990 and 1992.

Kramer's sentencing prompted an apology from Yeshivah College, which admitted to historical wrongs when it sent Kramer to Israel when informed of the accusations.

Mr Waks said the Yeshivah Centre failed to protect the boys.

"From our perspective, the Yeshivah Centre must be held to full account for everything they have known and the cover-ups and the way they treated victims," he said.

"We (Tzedek) do plan to hold (Yeshivah) to account at the royal commission."

Cyprys is currently in custody and will face a further plea hearing on November 8.