Final Defendant in Case Where Sex Abuse Victim’s Picture Was Taken While Testifying Has Charges Tossed

By Oren Yaniv
New York Daily News
October 25, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/final-defendant-case-sex-abuse-victim-picture-testifying-charges-tossed-article-1.1986262

Nearly two years after a sex abuse victim had her picture taken while testifying in a high-profile trial, charges were tossed Friday against the last defendant standing.

The dismissal of a contempt rap against Yona Weissman, 24, was expected since two months ago, when a judge suppressed all evidence found on his cell phone based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that such searches require a warrant.

“In light of that, we can’t proceed with the case,” prosecutor Joseph DiBenedetto said in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

“The primary evidence against this defendant is what was found in his phone.”

After the brief hearing, Weissman said he wasn’t the one who snapped the illicit image during the closely-watched trial of Nechemya Weberman, who was convicted in 2012 for abusing an Orthodox Jewish girl whom he had spiritually mentored for three years.

Earlier this year, charges were dropped against two codefendants: the weirdly-named Lemon Juice, who was apparently the victim of impersonation on social media, which got him ensnared into the prosecution, and Joseph Fried, whose phone did not take the photo, forensics found.

The victim’s husband, Boorey Deutsch, said he’s angry with the district attorney’s office “for showing the community that they will get off easy with abusing the abused.”

But those close to Weissman said that the public profile of the Weberman case was the reason the allegations have been taken so seriously in the first place.

“Justice has been served,” Weissman said after leaving court for the last time and thanking his lawyer Israel Fried. “They knew they don’t have a case.”

The rap against him was the last tentacle connected to the Weberman case, which also included unrelated bribery and intimidation prosecutions. Lawyers for the convicted abuser, who’s serving a 50-year sentence, are expected to argue his appeal in coming months.

Contact: oyaniv@nydailynews.com