NEW YORK
Failed Messiah
After days of testimony and more days of grueling cross examination and the brief redirect that followed, the 17-year-old alleged victim of accused child rapist Rabbi Nechemya Weberman has completed her testimony.
Oren Yaniv, who’s covering the trial for the Daily News and who is live tweeting it from the court, reports that the alleged victim was asked (I believe by the prosecution on redirect) why she decided to come forward and report the alleged sexual abuse.
According to Yaniv, the alleged victim responded, “I felt I had responsibility…it’s kind of my fault that he kept doing what he was doing to other people.”
It took tremendous courage for the alleged victim, who is now 17-years-old (the alleged sexual abuse began when she was 12) to come forward. She, close friends and some family members have had to endure intense harassment from what many increasingly call the Satmar Mafia. Her then-boyfriend was extorted and lost his restaurant due to that extortion. She has been demonized as a “slut,” a “whore,” a girl who “wanted it,” a “liar,” a “machshefah [witch],” et cetera.
If Weberman is indeed guilty, this young woman is a hero because she stood fast against intense waves of abuse heaped on her, not only to get justice for herself and, as she said on the stand the other day, “peace,” but to protect other young girls from Weberman’s exploitation, abuse and rape.
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