NEW YORK
Gothamist
In the latest round of testimonies at the trial of Nechemya Weberman—the ultra-Orthodox Jewish counselor accused of sexually abusing a teen girl in Brooklyn for years—Weberman himself took the stand. He was adamant that he “never ever” inappropriately touched the alleged victim, who saw him for counseling multiple times a week for a three year period starting when she was 12. But he did admit to defrauding his own charity.
Weberman admitted on the stand to using money from his nonprofit organization, B’lev V’Nefesh, to pay for his own child’s tuition at the United Talmudical Academy in Williamsburg, the same school which insisted to the victim’s parents that the teen meet with Weberman for counseling or else leave the school. “So you’re getting a salary and paying your children’s tuition?” asked Assistant District Attorney Kevin O’Donnell. “I did if I needed to,” Weberman replied. Weberman, who called himself a “rabbinical counselor” despite no training, said the non-profit was used to raise money for those who can’t afford his services.
But prosecutors brought up the fact that financial records show that the charity’s credit cards were used at BMG Corset & Lingerie, The Lingerie Shop and other undergarment stores. “Me, myself, I’m not aware of this,” Weberman claimed. “This is the first time I heard about it.” Weberman also described his first meeting with the teen: “She said, ‘Why should I trust you? Why should I talk to you? You look like a Hasidic f–k. You look like my father,’ ” Weberman testified.
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