AUSTRALIA
J-Wire
June 24, 2013 by J-Wire Staff
Rabbi Baruch Dov Lesches has apologised for remarks reported by Fairfax Media intimating that young sexual assault victims may have been consenting.
In a prepared statement Rabbis Lesches says: ”
I would like to apologize for statements made in a private telephone conversation that caused pain to the greater public. I deeply regret the incident.
I would like to make my position absolutely clear: Without any reservation, I endorse the rabbinical rulings encouraging victims of abuse to report to the police.
I was saddened to see an edited audio clip released by the Australian media regarding a personal phone conversation I had with an alleged victim of child abuse. I am troubled by the unprofessional conduct of the reporter who did not call me to verify the facts. Had he called me, I’m sure the information I would have provided would have produced a dramatically different article.
As I clearly told the caller in a subsequent phone conversation: I had no knowledge of the alleged charges claimed to have occurred some twenty-five years ago and discussed in the news report. In the conversation, I was discussing a separate incident where I was under the impression that both alleged parties were similar in age, twenty-one years old, a fact noted by Fairfax at the end of the audio clip. I was never informed of any allegations regarding minors prior to this call.
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