Chabad Hasid Gets Suspended Sentence For Child Sex Abuse

Failed Messiah
June 10, 2014

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2014/06/chabad-hasid-gets-suspended-sentence-for-child-sex-abuse-234.html

Daniel "Gug" Hayman

Magistrate Williams said he needed to apply the law as it was at the time of the offense but said if it had occurred today he "would have had no hesitation in sending [Daniel "Gug" Hayman]  to jail."

Daniel "Gug" Hayman, a former director of Chabad in Sydney, Australia sexually abused a boy at a Chabad camp in the late 1980s. Hayman went on to fail to comply with his voluntary sex offender counseling in Los Angeles and lived openly there under the partial protection of Debbie Fox, a social worker who at one time was mistakenly believed to be a strong advocate for haredi and Orthodox abuse victims.

Hayman was finally arrested in Australia on the old abuse charge and pleaded guilty.

What did Hayman plead guilty to?

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hayman sat in court today and "did not stop reading from the Book of Pslams as he was given the sentence for touching and holding a 14-year-old boy's penis during a camp at Stanwell Tops in the 1980s."

The judge in Hayman's case had previousy dropped a different case against Hayman and forbid the prosecution from recharging it. Why? Because he found the prosecution had undercharged the case. So sorry, Magistrate Williams said, it's just a paradox in the law and all that.

In this case, Magistrate Williams felt it necessary to mention in Hayman's favor that Hayman's strict religious upbringing inside Chabad had probably skewed his understanding of appropriate sexual behavior. Hayman was 24 and married when he sexually assaulted the boy.

But in the mess that is Australia's legal system, being found guilty of sexually abusing a child in your care does not mean you serve even one day in prison.

Australia's ABC News reports:

A Jewish youth camp volunteer has been handed a suspended sentence for indecently assaulting a boy in the 1980s.

Daniel Robert Hayman read the Book of Psalms and fidgeted in his chair as the magistrate told the court the indecent assault of the 14 year old was "not an isolated aberration at the time".

Hayman was 24 and recently married when he led his victim into an isolated area and assaulted him at Camp Gan Israel at Stanwell Tops, south of Sydney, in the 1980s.

Magistrate David Williams told the court the victim kept Hayman's secret for many years because he felt "the offender was popular and he was a nobody".

Hayman has been given a 19-month suspended sentence.

Magistrate Williams said he needed to apply the law as it was at the time of the offence but said if it had occurred today he "would have had no hesitation in sending him to jail".

The idea that sexually assaulting a child would have resulted in suspended sentence in the late 80s, if true, is another indication of why so many victims did not come forward then.

It is also more proof that Australia has one of the worst justice systems in the Western world. (And if you don't believe me, see what happened to another child sex abuse charge against Hayman, and ask yourself if you would want your children to live in country with laws like this.)

At any rate, here's a statement from Tzedek, the Australian anti-child-sex-abuse organization, about today's sentencing:

Tzedek, which is dedicated to addressing the issue of child sexual abuse within the Jewish community, notes the sentencing of former Sydney Yeshiva Centre director and volunteer, Daniel “Gug” Hayman, which took place today at the Sydney Downing Centre Local Courts. Mr. Hayman was handed a 19-month suspended sentence for the indecent assault of a then 14-year-old boy at the Yeshiva Camp Gan Israel at Stanwell Tops, Sydney in the 1980s.

Mr Hayman pleaded guilty to the charge during the trial in May.

Tzedek spokesperson, Liat Winer, stated:

“Today is another important milestone in the ongoing child sexual abuse scandal within the Australian Jewish community. Today’s sentencing is the first within a Jewish institution outside of Victoria.

We commend the courageous victim in pursuing this matter and acknowledge the courage and pain of the two other complainants.

We understand the many challenges that exist in the context of historic cases of child sexual abuse – for victims and their families, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and other relevant stakeholders. But importantly, today’s sentencing sends out a clear message that offenders will be pursued irrespective of when the crime took place.

What we cannot understand is the ongoing intimidation and shunning of victims and their families by certain segments of our community. In the case of Mr Hayman’s victim, it was made clear in his powerful Victim Impact Statement that members of his ultra-Orthodox community in Melbourne subjected him to precisely this type of abuse. This is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms possible. Sadly he is not alone in being re-victimised as a victim of child sexual abuse, nor is the Melbourne ultra-Orthodox community the only community to use such tactics.

We encourage anyone with information in relation to this or any other case of child sexual abuse and/or cover-ups to come forward and disclose this information to the authorities and/or the Royal Commission. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us – please don’t turn a blind eye.”

Tzedek continues to call on the Yeshiva Centre to clarify Mr Hayman’s responsibility for children in his various volunteer capacities during his extended time at the Centre and furthermore to clarify who had been made aware of the allegations and what actions were taken by this institution.

For us as a community to move forward, we must demand answers from those who knew or ought to have known what happened. We can’t move forward without acknowledging what happened in the past. The victims and their families need it, and deserve this. Our community needs it, and deserves this. It is a case of short term pain for long term gain. We believe that justice and truth will prevail. In the meantime, we will continue to relentlessly pursue those who are alleged to have sexually abused children and their enablers.

Tzedek is in a position to assist, support and advise victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and their families, just as we continue to do so with many others.

Enough! No more silence.