Brooklyn judge cites recent Supreme Court ruling...

By Oren Yaniv
New York Daily News
August 26, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/judge-tosses-evidence-man-accused-pic-sex-abuse-victim-witness-stand-article-1.1918058

Yona Weissman, center on right, had evidence tossed against him Tuesday in his contempt case.

This is one of the photos of a sex abuse victim testifying during the 2012 trial of Nechemya Weberman that led to the contempt charge.

Joe Marino

Brooklyn judge cites recent Supreme Court ruling while tossing cellphone evidence against man accused of taking picture of sex abuse victim on witness stand

A case centered around an improper digital image that captured a sex abuse victim on the witness stand is its last throes after a Brooklyn judge threw out all the evidence Tuesday.

Relying on a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision from two months ago — establishing that a search of a cell phone requires a warrant — Criminal Court judge Michael Gerstein found that the photo recovered from the phone of Yona Weissman, 24, cannot be used against him at trial.

The picture showed an 18-year-old Orhodox Jewish woman testifying against her former religious counselor Nechemya Weberman, who was convicted of molesting her following a closely-watched trial in 2012.

The contempt case involving the photograph garnered extra attention because one of the codefendants was weirdly named Lemon Juice.

He squeezed out a dismissal months ago and charges against another alleged cohort were also dropped, leaving Weissman the last defendant standing.

Court officers testified they believed he snapped a cell photo in the hallway, called him over and saw the illicit image, taken a day earlier inside the courtroom.

Gerstein found their actions justified but the Supreme Court ruling — coming over 18 months later — effectively pulled the rug from under the prosecution because the officers scrolled through the phone without a warrant.

“It’s done,” said defense lawyer Israel Fried. “There is no crime anymore. Nobody saw him take the picture.”

Prosecutors will have to announce how they choose to proceed when the case is called again in two months.

“We are reviewing the decision,” said a spokeswoman for Brooklyn district attorney Kenneth Thompson.

Weissman, who sprinted from the courthouse to avoid being photographed, “is celebrating already,” said a man who knows him.