New Square Hasid Charged with Child Sex Abuse

By Journal News
Steve Lieberman
June 20, 2014

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2014/06/new-square-hasid-charged-with-child-sex-abuse-678.html

Above: Rabbi Moshe Menachem Taubenfeld

Rabbi Moshe Menachem Taubenfeld, a 55-year-old teacher in the Skvere hasidic village of New Square, New York, has been indicted on charges of sexually abusing a pre-teen boy over a five-year period from 2001 to 2006, the Journal News reported tonight.

Taubenfeld – who is the brother of convicted pedophile Herschel Taubenfeld – is charged with charge of second-degree course of sexual conduct, a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

He was arrested on January 17.

It is unclear when Taubenfeld was indicted or why the indictment may have taken so long to be filed.

The alleged victim, identified only as Laiby, told the Journal News the abuse started on September 11, 2001 and continued until he turned 13 in 2006.

He said he and his family reported the abuse to New Square’s rabbinic leaders about – including the Skvere Rebbe David Twersky – about six years ago. Twersky allegedly forbid the family from reporting the abuse to police or the DA.

Taubenfeld's attorney, Gerard Damiani, reportedly said his client denies the charges.

The sexual contact allegedly took place in Taubenfeld's home, at first on a monthly basis. But as time went on the abuse became weekly and the almost daily.

"The victim was a young child when the defendant first began subjecting him to what would become a five-year nightmare of sexual abuse. His depraved actions changed the victim's life forever by robbing him of his innocence. Such alleged conduct can not go unpunished,” District Attorney Thomas Zugibe reportedly said.

Similar crimes have been charged in other New York jurisdictions in ways that have seen maximum possible sentences be far longer than the maximum of seven years Taubenfeld faces, and Zugibe’s record of prosecuting hasidic sex offender is considered poor.

The Journal News reports that Taubenfeld has been released from custody pending a future court date.

Contact: slieberm@lohud.com