Rabbi Accused in Internet Sex Sting Appears in Court Judge: Kaye Poses Threat to Community, NBC 4, May 22, 2006

Rabbi Accused in Internet Sex Sting Appears in Court
Judge: Kaye Poses Threat to Community

NBC 4
May 22, 2006

http://www.nbc4.com/news/9256973/detail.html

Alexandria, Va. -- The rabbi accused of trying to solicit a teen boy for sex over the Internet, but allegedly caught in a "NBC Dateline" sting got his day in court on Monday.

David Arnold Kaye, 56, of Rockville, Md., turned himself in to police on Friday.

He was charged last Thursday with coercion and enticement and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact with a minor.

The charges each carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Authorities said Kaye was caught in a "NBC Dateline" sexual predator Internet sting using an Internet chat room to entice who he believed to be a 13-year-old boy to engage in illegal sexual acts.

Police said Kaye drove from Maryland to Virginia in August 2005 to meet the boy for a sexual encounter.

The debate in court Monday surrounded whether or not Kaye poses a danger to the community if he is released from jail.

Federal prosecutors argue that Kaye does pose a danger. As evidence, they pointed to the graphic language complained in the 10-day long Internet chat between Kaye and a representative from a group called Perverted Justice. One of the members of the Perverted Justice team posed as the boy Kaye allegedly chatted online with.

The judge presiding over the case, Judge Theresa Buchanan, said she was troubled that it took authorities so long to charged Kaye. She ordered Monday that he be held in jail.

The judge said,

"When I read the transcript attached, it's sickening and I believe the government's case is strong. I do not feel comfortable giving the defendant a release on any terms. I believe he is a danger to the community."

Kaye's attorney said his client voluntarily sought therapy and has the support of family members.

"Mr. Kaye has acted in absolutely a responsible manner. He's reacted on his own well before law enforcement did, months and months before law enforcement did. And again that will come out in the appropriate time and place," said Kaye's attorney Peter Greenspun.

Before he became the subject of the investigation, Kaye was the vice president at the Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values. He also was a rabbi at a Potomac, Md., synagogue for 15 years.