Clergy as Mandated Reporters

Clergy as Mandated Reporters  
(© 2003) By Vicki Polin, MA, ATR-BC, LCPC

The following testimony was presented to the Maryland Senate Committee on SB412 (Feb. 25, 2003)



I wanted to thank you for giving The Awareness Center the opportunity to speak on this important topic today.

I'll begin by saying being Jewish means that I ask a lot of questions, and answer questions with questions. Bearing that in mind let me start off by asking: "Why are we REALLY here today?"

Answer: Children in Maryland are being abused and neglected.

We are here because the current systems within our churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples are NOT working. When children disclose abuse, they are NOT being protected. When it comes to OUR children's safety, our religious leaders are FAILING.

We have all heard the news reports. Various news media groups across our nation are definitely keeping busy. They have told us loud and clear, over and over again that religious court systems have been turning their backs on our children, not just recently, but FOR GENERATIONS.

We already know the problems. So if those of us in this room right now, don't work to change things today, it is we who are allowing more children to be abused and neglected; we are allowing more children to be told to keep silent. Things MUST change. OUR CHILDREN ARE SUFFERING.

Dealing with child abuse is never easy. What do you do when you hear that a friend of yours has been named as the alleged offender in a sexual abuse case? What do you do when you hear the allegations that a colleague or family member is molesting a child? The natural reaction is to slip into denial. No one wants to believe that someone they know, and possibly trusted, is a sex offender. But it is for exactly this reason we are here today, and have to change things. WE MUST make our clergy members mandated by law to report when they SUSPECT a child is at risk of harm. We can't be judge and jury to people we know and care for.

All we have to do is log on to our computers and go to The Awareness Center's web page "Clergy Abuse: Rabbis, Cantors and Other Trusted Officials".  You will find about fifty cases of rabbis, teachers, camp-counselors, scout leaders, etc., who had articles written about them in the news media. All of these individuals have been accused and some convicted of child molestation. Most of the alleged victims of these alleged offenders went to their rabbis for help. Too many were ignored and/or told to keep silent. Often the victims and victims' families were intimidated by their leaders if they went to State officials.

Just look at the case of Rabbi Baruch Lanner, the case of the kosher butcher in Chicago, or the case of Rabbi Ephraim Bryks. All three men were known in the communities as being problematic, as having problems with sexual impulse control. Yet these men were allowed to continue to harm children. All three men were well protected by their local religious leaders in their respected communities. All of these men's victims were left unprotected and told to be silent.


Rabbi Baruch Lanner
Baruch Lanner was regarded as one of the most brilliant, dynamic and charismatic educators in Jewish life in today's world. He was the director of regions of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, an arm of the Orthodox Union. Rabbi Lanner worked with and supervised teenagers for more than thirty years. Lanner was also a principal and teacher at religious high schools. For many years he led a highly successful six-week summer program in Israel offering Bible study to up to 300 American boys. His criminal sexual behavior was known not only all over the United States, but also on an international level.

Even though Rabbi Lanner is credited with bringing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children closer to Judaism, reports of his criminal behavior have been circulating since the 1970's. Although Baruch Lanner was convicted of child molestation, he is sitting at home instead of in prison awaiting his appeal. One reason stated by the Asbury Park Press (October 9, 2002) is "he fears he may become a victim of sexual abuse by fellow inmates."


The Kosher Butcher
Before I start to tell you about this case. I want you to know this is a story that could easily have happened in Rockville, Baltimore, or any town in the State of Maryland. The offender could have been Muslim, Catholic, Buddhist, or from any other religious group.

The kosher butcher is a story of a man who was allegedly allowed to molest children for over thirty years. It's a well-known case in the Jewish community of Chicago. The only written description of this case is an article in the Chicago Jewish News, dated January 28, 2000.

After this story broke, the editor of the paper, and the two sisters who broke the story were met with hate from members in the community. It was one of those deep dark secrets no one wanted to be made public.

There were never any criminal charges brought up against the butcher, even though many religious leaders were aware of the criminal behavior of this sexual predator. The religious leaders were NOT mandated reporters. Needless to say the kosher butcher was allowed to continue to find more victims, and he did.

There's more to this story then a pedophile being enabled by his community to continue his or her molesting career. There was a child who grew up in the same apartment building as the butcher. When this child became an adult he took on similar criminal sexual behaviors to his neighbor the butcher.

Rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz, was the son of a rabbi. He went to school and became a clinical psychologist. He moved to New York and set up his practice. He also mimicked the behavior of his neighbor, that same butcher. With the community's hush-up of the butcher's acts, there is no evidence that Rabbi Mondrowitz was abused by him." But there is plenty of information about Rabbi Mondrowitz's criminal sexual behavior, that would make anyone who understands the dynamics of those who offend, extremely curious about his history.


Rabbi Ephraim Bryks
Rabbi Ephraim Bryks is originally from Denver, Colorado. In this case, accusations about his inappropriate behavior with children started surfacing in the 1980's. These accusations also included making sexual advancements to women in his congregation. When his alleged victims disclosed their experiences to a rabbinic leader in their community, they were basically told to keep silent. The rabbi advised them not to go to the police or child family services. He told them to deal with the allegations internally with the synagogue board. The children were not offered psychotherapy to help them cope with their alleged victimization. Unfortunately a teenager who didn't have the coping skills to deal with his memories ended up committing suicide.

Over the years Rabbi Ephraim Bryks has left a trail of alleged victims from such far-away places as Winnipeg, Canada. He is currently located in New York City. There are no documented cases or public information regarding any victims in New York, yet he has been let go by schools (one characterized as firing), but the schools will not discuss the matter.

For years alleged victims have been going to rabbinic leaders in their communities looking for guidance. For years rabbinic leaders have found it more important to protect an alleged sexual predator over protecting our children.

Currently 49 year-old Rabbi Ephraim Boruch Bryks continues to run a school in Queens, NY. He is currently a member of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) and the Vaad Harabonim (member of the rabbinical committee that makes important decisions within the community) of Queens.


Question: Who decides who sits on a religious court? It is possible that Rabbi Bryks does? He is on the committee in Queens that makes important decisions.

In the secular world, judges disqualify themselves when they are too close to the parties in court hearings. Surgeons usually do not operate on family members. Religious communities in a city or town, are usually pretty small circles--everyone seems to know each other. My question to you is, why should we allow our clergy any leniency when it comes to reporting suspected child abuse or neglect?

For the sake of conserving time, and reducing redundandancy, I'll use the term "rabbi" to represent all clergy, and the term "synagogue" to represent all houses of worship. When using the word "bet din," which translate into rabbinical court, I'll be referring to any entity that investigates and/or prosecutes cases within a religion's court system.

Let's take a step back from child abuse for a moment. Let me ask you a few more questions.

If there is an arson fire at your local synagogue in Olney, Maryland, who would you want to investigate this crime? If you are Jewish, do you call the local rabbinical court (bet din)? Or do you expect the Olney Police and Fire Departments to be informed, put the fire out, and carry out the investigations?

If there's a shooting on your street, who should investigate the crime, your local religious court, or the local Police Department?

So I ask you, when a rabbi, priest, pastor, cleric or any other member of the clergy, SUSPECTS a child is being abused and/or neglected, whom should she or he call? The religious court in Baltimore? Or the State of Maryland's Child Abuse Hot-line?

Before answering that question, I want you to think about something. We all know how difficult it is to prosecute a case when children are involved. We are all aware of how important it is to protect a crime scene to avoid contaminating evidence. Police departments and child protection workers undergo specific training that allows them to minimize contamination of information and maximize the chance of finding out what really happened. Keeping this in mind, does your local religious court have experience in forensic interviewing? Do they know how to do victim-sensitive interviews? Is the clergy member who suspects a child is at risk, trained in collecting evidence? My bet is that your answer to all of these questions would be NO.

The Awareness Center strongly believes that all members of the clergy should be mandated by law to call the Maryland State Child Abuse Hot-line when they SUSPECT a child is in danger. This is not an unusual request. We are asking you to mandate clergy to do what every other citizen in Maryland is mandated to do.

Our teachers, doctors, psychotherapists, childcare workers, medical personnel--are all mandated, by law, to report when they SUSPECT a child is may be being abused or neglected.

According to the law, it is NOT at the discretion of a teacher, therapist, child care worker or doctor, to substantiate the abuse, to decide whether they'd rather investigate it themselves, or to make a judgment call about the authenticity of the allegations or it's motive. The law specifically states that if you are a mandated reporter who SUSPECTS a child may be in danger, you make a phone call. If you don't, you are breaking the law. The Awareness Center asks you to mandate that members of the clergy not be given preferential treatment. We ask that you hold them accountable as every other citizen. Remember that, by definition, clergy are teachers, counselors, and can also be seen as doctors to our souls. It seems almost barbaric that they have been exempt, and are attempting to continue to be. Are the mandated reporting laws in place to protect offenders or to protect children?

In a recent article in the Washington Post, Na'ama Yehuda--a co-director of The Awareness Center--was quoted as saying "I don't believe that pedophilia has a religion." Child abuse is a criminal matter, not a religious one.

There has never been any research done stating that sexual abuse happens more in one religion than another. But we do have resources that indicate that one out of every 3-5 women, and one out of every 5-7 men in the United States have been sexually abused by their eighteenth birthday. Until proven differently, that means that a quarter of all Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian women and about a fifth of all Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian men have been molested in their childhood.

Keeping this in mind, we have a huge problem on our hands, a problem that is just beginning to be addressed in religious circles. In fact, we would most likely not be here today if the news media did not do their job. They heard stories from victims, investigated and found cover-ups. It's sad to say the only salvation these survivors had, was that their victimization was making headline news.


Quote from Former Student of Rabbi Bryks (name withheld upon request):

I don't have to be politically correct, my (and my friends) dealings both directly and indirectly with the Rabbinical Counsel of America (RCA) and the 0rthodox Union (OU) over Rabbi Bryks indicate clearly to me that they are utterly incapable of dealing with allegations of abuse. There are no mechanisms, no understanding of the problem in the structure of any bet din, and frankly no desire to deal with it. Rabbi Billet and Rabbi Weintraub (#2 in OU but as such is also on the RCA board), are both aware of Bryks, who continues to be a member of the RCA, but are in no rush to establish codes of conduct/balances and checks/investigatory mechanisms to deal with misbehaving members.

Although, I've found child "protection" agencies to be anything but that (few resources, political pressures and frankly sloppiness and laziness), I'd still have more faith in them than a private organization paid for by a body that employs the accused. Private organizations are just that, private. It is essential to create paper trails with offenders, secrecy and silence simply protect them.

Quote from Survivor #1 (name withheld upon request):

Back in the 1970's I went to the guidance counselor at my school (Conservative Jewish Day school). I told her about my father's violent temper and showed her the marks on my arms. I just couldn't imagine going back home that night. I was asking for help. She told me to come back later in the day. She had to consult with the school rabbi. When I went back, she told me there was nothing she could do. My bruises wouldn't photograph well enough. There was nothing anyone could do. I had no choice but go back home. No hot-line report was made.

I always wondered what my life would have been like if someone would have referred me and my family to therapy, or if I would have been removed from my home. I wonder if I would have done better in school? No one wanted to listen to me. No one wanted to get involved. As an adult I was having problems with my jaw. I had special x-rays taken and learned that my jaw had been broken in a few places and that by the calcification, it must have happened when I was about 5. My dentist looked bewildered and then explained to me, by the angle of the break. It could only have been caused by a fist.

Quote from Survivor # 2 (name withheld upon request):

"I am from a Reform background. For many years I felt no connection with Judaism. How could I? In 1986 I went to my rabbi. I really liked him, and thought I could trust him. I went to him in tears; I didn't know what to do. My father was molesting me. I was in high school. When I told him about the abuse, he told me I was making it up. I guess the pregnancy that I aborted was just a figment of my imagination too?"

The Awareness Center is not here to claim that all religious leaders ignore the pain of children, but we are here to say that if our clergy were mandated to report when they SUSPECT a child is at risk, our children would have a chance. Child abuse investigation is the role of law enforcement and child protective services NOT the clergy.

Several years ago teachers, therapists, child care workers, and just about every other individual who has contact with children became mandated reporters. Everyone except our clergy. Our children need you to change this. Please remember this bill is not about protecting the rights of clergy. This bill in front of you is about protecting innocent children from being abused and making sure abusers don't go on abusing.

Think about it--as we speak, at least one more child is being hurt (and with 90% of abused kids being abused by someone they know), most likely becoming a victim of a trusted adult. This is one more child who may gather their courage to go to a member of the clergy for help, instead of those individuals who ARE already mandated to report. If you review all of the cases on The Awareness Center's web page, you may start to wonder if this child, too, will be silenced. Will the alleged offenders be investigated by our criminal justice system? Or should the case be kept quiet, so that the alleged offender and his or her family, and the community not be embarrassed? Remember it is your child, your niece, nephew, cousin, etc, that may be at risk.

One of the biggest arguments I've heard over and over from members of the clergy is that if they became mandated to report when they SUSPECT a child is at risk, no one would talk to them. This is the same argument that was used by teachers, doctors and therapists when they were faced with the same bill. And yet they ARE mandated reporters, and let me tell you a secret: people still see therapists, they still seek medical attention, and children still go to school. Having these professionals become mandated reporters did not force them to close shop--but it did and does protect children, every day. It is a fact that both adults and children still seek advice from, and disclose their deepest secrets to, trusted figures who are mandated reporters.

Unfortunately, there have been too many times that I have been mandated by law to make hot-line reports. Most of the time, I wished that I wasn't required by law to do so. But because the law is in place, I make the reports. Sometimes the cases were founded, and sometimes there was either not enough evidence or no evidence. It doesn't matter. I reported my suspicions and law enforcement did its job.
EXAMPLE #1

I was working with a three year old girl. I got a call from her mother, who was extremely upset. The girl was at a play group and started asking her male playmates to pull down their pants. This behavior is not that unusual, but the girl proceeded to perform oral sex on her friend.

Is this normal child behavior? The answer is NO.

I always explain to clients prior to starting treatment that I am a mandated reporter, and explain what that means. After this mother disclosed the story, I reminded her about the mandated reporting laws. I suspected that someone that this girl has contact with was molesting her, so I called the child abuse hot-line. The police and child protection workers did their job. The girl was not a sex offender. She was NOT taken from her family, because she wasn't being abused in her home. This three-year old girl was sexually reactive. She was acting out what she saw being done to one of her playmates by his father in her neighbor's home.

EXAMPLE #2

The Case of Adam Rubin
Last year, there was an incident involving several 12-13 year old female students at Beth Tfiloh, in Pikesville, MD. They told a staff member at the school that they had been exchanging e-mails with Adam Rubin, who had been a coach at their school. The girls told the teacher that Rubin's messages had become sexual in nature. The school's rabbi's policy is to make hot-line reports when they SUSPECT a child is at risk, so a hot-line report was made.

With the permission of one of the girls' parents, detectives began having conversations with Rubin on the Internet using the girl's account, according to the charging documents. The e-mail messages quickly turned sexual, with Rubin explicitly describing how he wanted to sexually interact with the girl, police said. The next night, he expressed concern about what would happen to him if he was caught having sex with a minor, according to the charging documents. A meeting to consummate the online relationship was arranged. Rubin told the girl to wear something "comfy" but that he liked "tight miniskirts" and "midriff tops," the documents said.

Police arrested Rubin in a sport utility vehicle near the Atrium of the Pikesville shopping center. According to the charging documents, Rubin told police he had received as many as 30 pictures on the Internet from underage girls either nude or in a state of arousal and that he thought he had a "problem -- an addiction to the Internet, talking to young girls on it." If Beth Tfiloh didn't report this case, there could have been more victims.

At the risk of over-stating, please bear with me when I clarify once again that being mandated reporter does not mean that we are mandated to INVESTIGATE allegations of abuse. Rather it means that we are required by law to report a situation IF we have a reason to believe that a child MIGHT be at risk of harm and/or neglect. This is true for ALL cases of suspected child abuse.

The investigation part needs to happen, of course, but it is up to highly trained, highly skilled people who have experience in these matters. As a mandated reporter you leave the criminal investigation up to a multidisciplined task force that work together as a team. And an extremely important element here is that it's an UNBIASED team--they do not have personal relationships with the alleged offender and/or victim. If these highly trained professionals do have such a relationship with an offender or victim, they excuse themselves from investigating the case at hand.

A member of the clergy--just like a therapist or teacher or doctor--who suspects child abuse, and especially in a member or by a member of their community, isn't unbiased. They should not be the ones to investigate. They should, however, be mandated to report suspected child abuse and neglect.

I am here today representing The Awareness Center, asking you to help us focus our attention on the children, rather than on the perceived image of religious groups. Some of these groups have spent or are planning to spend millions of dollars, contracting with private risk management groups, mostly devised to help prevent law suits, rather than to help heal our children and our communities.

The role of clergy, in the process of healing their community is unique. By working as liaisons with child protection services (rather than against them, by not reporting when they suspect abuse in the community) our clergy can become the missing link in meeting our goal to protecting our children. They can educate child protection workers on the customs and traditions specific to each communities.

Please, let us NOT BE AFRAID OF EACH OTHER. Child protection services aren't there to break up families and/or demolish the spiritual bond individuals have with God--they are there to protect children and to offer services to families in need.

The monies spent on private risk management agencies doesn't protect children. It doesn't provide the services needed to help heal the families, or our various religious communities. The only ones we need to be wary of are those who continue to harm our children. We need to STOP protecting offenders--whether they are clergy or laypeople. We need to all be made responsible to our children.

Please help support this bill. Please vote to have clergy join the many others who are already required to put children first by being mandated to report SUSPECTED child abuse and neglect.

Thank You.

Case of Cantor Robert Shapiro

Case of Cantor Robert Shapiro

(AKA: Hazzan Robert Shapiro)

Former Cantor - Congregation Beth Israel, San Diego, CA

Jamaica Plain, MA

Former Bar Mitzvah Teacher - Temple Beth Am, Randolph, MA

Former Cantor - Temple Beth Am, Randolph, MA

Past Executive Council Member - Cantors Assembly, Fairlawn, OH 

Former Regional Chairman - Cantors Assembly, Fairlawn, OH 

Former Cantor Student - Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, NY

Former Student - City of College of New York

Former Student - Rutgers University in New Jersey

Former Student - Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

Pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally disabled person. In return, Norfolk County prosecutors dropped seven counts of rape. He was 72 at the time.  He struck a plea bargain, agreeing to one year of house arrest with an electronic monitor and 10 years of supervised probation. Shapiro also was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with mentally disabled people and to register as a sex offender.  

Hazzan Robert Shapiro was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He entered the first class of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York earning the Diploma of Chazan and Degree in Sacred Music. Hazzan Shapiro also attended Wayne State University in Detroit, City of College of New York, and Rutgers University in New Jersey.

There are several people who go by the name of Robert Shapiro. The individual discussed on this page was born around 1934.

At last check Robert Shapiro does not appear on the National Sex Offender Registry, nor were we able to find an obituary notice on him.  If you have any information regarding this case, please forward it to The Awareness Center.

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Disclaimer: Inclusion in this website does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. Individuals must decide for themselves if the resources meet their own personal needs.

Table of Contents:

2003

1. About Hazzan Shapiro
2. Cantor charged in rape (02/22/2003)
3. Temple cantor accused of rape, assault (02/22/2003)
4. Temple suspends accused cantor (02/25/2003)
5. Cantor Suspended Amid Charges Not Guilty Plea To Rape Allegations (02/28/2003)
6. Correction (02/28/2003)
7. Correction (03/06/2003)
8. Temple shocked by charges: Cantor faces assault allegations involving Beth Am congregant (03/06/2003)
9. Alleged victim of assault employed at nursing home (03/13/2003)
10. Randolph cantor indicted in rape case (04/11/2003)
11. Randolph cantor retires under cloud of rape charge: Shapiro steps down from Temple Beth Am (04/17/2003)
12. Cantor at Temple Beth Am facing additional charges; Shapiro indicted on 21 counts for alleged assault of congregant (04/24/2003)
13. Former cantor pleads innocent to rape; He also facessuit filed by parents of alleged victim (05/01/2003)
14. Beth Israel decides on an interim rabbi (07/10/2003)
15. New cantor hired at Temple Beth Am (10/02/2003)
16. New cantor at Temple Beth Am to begin (10/13/2003)

2005

1. Cantor gets year of house arrest in rape case (09/30/2005)
2. Former Cantor Admits Indecent Assault (09/30/2005)
3. Former Temple Beth Am cantor sentenced for assault and battery (10/01/2005)
4. Former cantor pleads guilty to indecent assault (10/01/2005)

2006

1. Victim's family says attacker has too much freedom; Temple's ex- cantor under house arrest for sexual assault on retarded woman (02/02/2006)
2. Sexual assault suit against Temple Beth Am dismissed (05/12/2006)
3. Ex-cantor ordered to pay $8.4M for abuse; Randolph man admitted to molesting retarded woman left in his care (09/15/2006)
4. Cantor to cough up $8.4M for sex abuse (09/15/2006)

2007

1. How one Boston synagogue met the challenge of the cantor’s sexual abuse (01/11/2007)

2014

1. New York State Sex Offender Registry (02/22/2014)

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About Hazzan Shapiro

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism - February 24, 2004

Hazzan Robert Shapiro was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He entered the first class of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York earning the Diploma of Chazan and Degree in Sacred Music. Hazzan Shapiro also attended Wayne State University in Detroit, City of College of New York, and Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Our Hazzan and his wife (Name Removed) are parents to four daughters and as grandparents share the love of grandchildren.

Hazzan Shapiro has served as a regional chairman of the Cantors Assembly and as a member of it's Executive Council. He has received the Honorary Fellow Award from the Jewish Theological Seminary and he has been honored by the National Council of Christians and Jews receiving their Brotherhood Award for his many musical projects and programs bringing a greater understanding between faiths.

Hazzan Shapiro has appeared in concert, on recordings and on radio and television. He has written music as well as program scripts and has directed choral groups and presented extensive musical pageants. His interests off the pulpit include his love of the Jewish people and Israel to which he continues to escort congregational tours. Hazzan Shapiro serves Temple Beth Am of Randolph as it's Cantor, pastor to it's membership, b'nai mitzvah instructor, music programmer and friend and confidant.

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Cantor charged in rape

JTA - February 22, 2003

A Boston-area cantor charged with raping a mentally retarded woman was barred from his synagogue. Robert Shapiro was suspended from his duties as cantor at Temple Beth Am in Randolph, Mass., and prevented from officiating at services or from entering the synagogue, the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., reported. Shapiro, 69, pleaded not guilty last week to three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery. The alleged attacks occurred over the past year at a nursing home where the woman lives and at the synagogue, the newspaper said.

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Temple cantor accused of rape, assault

By Sue Scheible

The Patriot Ledger - February 22, 2003

RANDOLPH - Robert Shapiro, the hazzan or cantor at Temple Beth-Am, pleaded innocent Friday to three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded woman.

The incidents allegedly took place over the past year, some of them at a Canton nursing home.

Shapiro, 69, was released on personal recognizance after his arraignment in Quincy District Court. Assistant District Attorney Lisa Beatty's request for $2,500 cash bail was denied, according to David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating.

Shapiro was ordered to stay away from the Meadowbrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canton and to have no contact with the alleged victim and her family. He was also ordered to report every two weeks to the court probation department, according to Traub.

The incidents allegedly took place over the past year at both the nursing home and the temple, according to attorney Bruce Namenson of Quincy, who represents the alleged victim.

Namenson declined to identify the victim, her age or where she resides to protect her privacy but said he has a long-standing relationship with the family and that the woman ``is mentally challenged, and she is extremely distraught by what has happened.''

The family are very disturbed and saddened and want to see justice done,'' the lawyer said.

A woman answering the phone at Shapiro's Crawford Street home Friday evening said she had no comment and hung up. Attorney Richard Egbert of Milton, who has a Boston law practice, is representing Shapiro, according to Namenson. Egbert could not be reached for comment Friday night.

The case was continued to April 9. Namenson said he expects that Shapiro will be indicted in Norfolk Superior Court in the next few weeks because district court has no jurisdiction over cases involving allegations of rape. The investigation by police and the district attorney's office is continuing.

Rabbi Loel Weiss of Temple Beth-Am could not be reached for comment Friday night.

A hazzan or cantor is a man or woman who provides the musical portion at religious services and also often works with young people who are being prepared for bar mitzvah (boys) or bat mitzvah (girls).

Randolph and Canton police had no comment.

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Temple suspends accused cantor

By FRED HANSON

The Patriot Ledger - February 25, 2003

RANDOLPH - Robert Shapiro was suspended from his duties as hazzan, or cantor, at Temple Beth Am shortly after allegations of sexual assault were raised, an official of the congregation said yesterday.

Shapiro, 69, was instructed not to enter the North Main Street synagogue or officiate at religious services, said Mark Itzkowitz, the temple's general counsel and a member of its board of directors.

Shapiro, the temple's hazzan for a quarter-century, pleaded innocent Friday to three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded woman.

He was ordered to stay away from the alleged victim and her family, and the Tower Hill Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Canton.

The incidents allegedly took place during the past year at the nursing home and temple, said lawyer Bruce Namenson of Quincy, who represents the alleged victim.

Itzkowitz said temple officials first learned of the allegations Feb. 7, when the victim's family met with Rabbi Loel Weiss, the congregation's spiritual leader.

Within an hour of that meeting, police were contacted, a criminal investigation was started and Shapiro was suspended with pay, Itzkowitz said.

``We have cooperated fully with the investigating and prosecuting authorities, and they have treated the temple with courtesy, respect and discretion,'' he said.

Shapiro's contract was up for renewal and was to have been discussed at a general membership meeting of the congregation Sunday night. When the directors learned of the allegations, discussion of the contract was taken off the agenda, Itzkowitz said.

``No decision was made as to what the future holds. That will be looked at again,'' Itzkowitz said of Shapiro's employment status.

Instead, part of the meeting was devoted to discussing the allegations, with much of the information coming from a story in the Weekend edition of The Patriot Ledger.

``It's a very sad and painful thing for everybody,'' since Shapiro and the woman are members of the community.

At the meeting, Rabbi Weiss compared it to shivah, the period of mourning.

A hazzan is the man or woman who provides the musical portion of religious services.

Itzkowitz said Shapiro was ``beloved by the community.''

At the meeting, he urged members not to speculate on the identity of the alleged victim and to respect her privacy.

Temple President Scott Belgard also read a statement at Sunday's meeting.

``We are all shocked and saddened by the events of last Friday, and our hearts and prayers go out to everyone involved,'' Belgard said.

``The members of our synagogue will gain strength from each other as we heal from the distressing news,'' Belgard said.

Rabbi Weiss has taken over Shapiro's job of preparing students for their bar or bat mitzvahs, Itzkowitz said.

Acting Randolph Police Chief Robert Churchill declined to comment on the investigation last night, referring questions to the Norfolk County District Attorney's office.

Richard Egbert, Shapiro's attorney, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

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Cantor Suspended Amid Charges Not Guilty Plea To Rape Allegations

By Ray Henry

The Boston Globe - February 28, 2003

Officials at Temple Beth-Am in Randolph suspended a cantor from his duties this week after he was arraigned on charges of raping a mentally retarded woman, prosecutors and synagogue officials said. Cantor Robert Shapiro, 69, has pleaded not guilty in Quincy District Court to three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person, said David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney's office.

A woman who answered the phone at Shapiro's house yesterday refused to comment.

The charges have shocked the entire congregation, said Rabbi Loel Weiss.

"We're just viewing them as allegations at this point," he said. "We're just very, very saddened for the tragedy to the entire community."

The judge released Shapiro on personal recognizance and ordered him to stay away from the Tower Hill Center for Health & Rehabilitation in Canton, prosecutors said. The facility until recently was called the Meadowbrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Randolph Police and State Police investigators assigned to the district attorney's office arrested Shapiro on a warrant last week, Traub said.

As cantor, Shapiro's duties include leading the congregation in services and song and preparing children for their bar or bat mitvah, Weiss said.

Shapiro formerly served as a regional chairman of the Cantors Assembly, received an award as an honorary fellow of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and received the Brotherhood Award from the National Council of Christians and Jews, according to the synagogue.

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CORRECTION

The Boston Globe - February 28, 2003

* Omission; A City & Region story on Feb. 28 about the arraignment on rape charges of Robert Shapiro of Randolph noted that Shapiro had been ordered to stay away from the Tower Hill Center for Health & Rehabilitation. The victim in the case worked at the center, but was not a patient

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CORRECTION

by Ken Johnson

The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA) - March 6, 2003 Thursday, Thursday City Edition

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 2

The lawyer for a mentally disabled woman who was allegedly raped by the cantor of a Randolph temple says he does not know where the assaults took place.

Stories on Feb. 22 and Feb. 25 stated that Robert Shapiro was accused of raping the woman at the temple and at the nursing home and attributed the information to attorney Bruce Namenson of Quincy. The district attorney's office has not confirmed the location.

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Temple shocked by charges: Cantor faces assault allegations involving Beth Am congregant 

By Jason Nielsen

Jewish Advocate - March 6, 2003

A Randolph rabbi says his congregation is "sitting shiva" after allegations that its longtime cantor allegedly sexually assaulted a mentally retarded female congregant.

Rabbi Loel Weiss of Temple Beth Am spoke to more than 150 congregants at a temple meeting on Sunday, telling them that they have "lost their innocence and the sense that these type of allegations can bypass us."

The two-hour meeting, which was originally scheduled to discuss a pay raise for the cantor, focused on the allegations against the cantor, actions the temple administration has taken, and what individual members should do.

The cantor, Robert Shapiro, 69, of Randolph, was arrested by the Randolph Police Dept. on Feb. 21. In Quincy District Court, he pleaded innocent to three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person.

The investigation was initiated by Randolph Police Sgt. William Pace after authorities were notified of the allegations by Weiss, who had been contacted by the alleged victim.

David Traub, spokesperson for Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating, said he could not release details about the nature or length of the alleged relationship between the cantor and the unidentified female. The Patriot Ledger reported that the incidents allegedly took place over the last year at the Middlebrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canton.

The cantor, who has served the congregation for more than a quarter-century, was immediately suspended from his duties after the rabbi informed Beth Am President Scott Belgard and the board of the allegations, according to Mark Itzkowitz, the temple's legal counsel and a congregant. Shapiro is not allowed to enter the temple or officiate at temple functions. Itzkowitz said the board has made no determination whether the temple will continue to pay thecantor.

Itzkowitz read a statement to the congregation at Sunday's meeting. "It is neither our legal nor our moral responsibility to determine truth (of the allegations)," Itzkowitz told congregants. "It is our legal and moral obligation to protect the welfare of our congregants and our temple family and to take all reasonable measures to ensure their safety and their reputations."

Shapiro was released on personal recognizance after Assistant District Attorney Lisa Beatty's request for a cash bail of $2,500 was denied. Shapiro is required to report every two weeks to the probation office in Quincy District Court before his next scheduled court date on April 9.

Richard Egbert, a Boston attorney representing Shapiro, said his client "intends to fight the matters vigorously and fully looks forward to a trial."

Bruce Namenson, a private attorney in Quincy hired by the alleged victim's family, could not be reached for comment.

Weiss and Debrah Gladstone, the temple's religious school educator, will take over Shapiro's duties of preparing students for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

Shapiro and his wife, Iris, have children as well as grandchildren.

"My head is spinning," said Belgard, who has been president of the temple since June 2001 and a member since 1986, "because it's still a shock. I feel terrible that both families have to go through this."

In Sunday's meeting, he told congregants that the temple, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, has faced both good and bad times as a community. "Our members and clergy have supported each other in difficult times and rejoiced with each other in happy times," he said. "I have every expectation that this will continue for many years."

Belgard said the cantor taught him how to read the Torah and haftorah.

Asked if he felt betrayed by the allegations against the cantor, he said, "I'm not making a judgment on what the allegations are."

Weiss said congregants were both upset and sad about the situation. He has been contacted by dozens of people in person, by phone or via e-mail about how they feel about the situation.

"I told the community that it's not helpful or fruitful to speculate on what-if scenarios," said Weiss, who has been a friend and colleague of Shapiro's for the 19 years the rabbi has been at Temple Beth Am. "The main concern is how sad it is that members of the community are hurting so much and how sad it is that the community is hurting."

Itzkowitz heard about the charges when he walked into services on Saturday and the custodian asked him whether he knew about the allegations. Many people were crying during the service after they learned of the alleged sexual misconduct.

"It's in the same sense as if you heard someone had died," Itzkowitz said. "The hazzan (Hebrew word for cantor) has been there for over 25 years, and everyone in the temple had some contact with him. He is held in high regard, just as the alleged victim is also one of our own and held in high regard. This is a human tragedy involving people who are near and dear to us."

Itzkowitz thought of the recent troubles of the Catholic Church in Boston and around the country when he learned of the allegations.

"We understand the climate we are living in, given the reported conduct of the Archdiocese of Boston and the manner it responded to reported incidents," Itzkowitz said. "We had fresh knowledge of that in mind and acted understandingly with what legal and moral responsibilities there are."

Itzkowitz said he has notified the temple's insurance agency of a potential claim against the temple.

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Alleged victim of assault employed at nursing home
By Jason Nielsen
Jewish Advocate - March 13, 2003

The owner of a Canton nursing home identified the alleged victim of a Randolph cantor charged with sexual assault as an employee, not a patient of the facility.

Jeff Goldshine, president of Commonwealth Communities in Stoughton and principal owner of the Tower Hill Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Canton, said the alleged victim has never been a patient of the nursing care facility, which was formerly known as Meadowbrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Goldshine said the woman, whose name has not been released, was an employee of the facility at the time the alleged assault occurred.

"At no time was a patient of Tower Hill, formerly called Meadowbrook of Canton, a victim of any misconduct," Goldshine said in a statement that he reported was authorized by the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office. "The judge's order for the accused to stay away from Tower Hill is because the alleged victim is an employee, not a patient."

Commonwealth Communities is a management company that acquired the nursing care facility in October. Tower Hill is the only kosher nursing care facility on the South Shore.

The allegations against Temple Beth Am cantor Robert Shapiro "date back at least two years," said Goldshine, who reported that he was unaware of other specifics of the case. A report that the alleged incidents took place in the last year was inaccurate, according to Goldshine.

Shapiro, 69, was arrested by the Randolph Police Dept. on Feb. 21. In Quincy District Court, he pleaded innocent to three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person.

Shapiro was released on his own recognizance after his court appearance. He is required to report to the probation office in Quincy District Court every two weeks. Shapiro is due back in court on April 9.

The cantor, who has served the congregation for more than 20 years, was suspended from his duties after Rabbi Lowell Weiss informed congregation President Scott Belgard and the Board of Directors of the allegations, according to Mark Itzkowitz, the temple's legal counsel and a congregant. Shapiro is not allowed to enter the temple or officiate at temple functions.

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Randolph cantor indicted in rape case

By DENNIS TATZ

The Patriot Ledger - April 11, 2003

DEDHAM - A 69-year-old cantor at a Randolph temple was indicted yesterday on charges he raped a retarded woman over a period of more than two years.

Robert D. Shapiro is facing seven counts of rape and 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person.

The sexual assaults allegedly occurred in Randolph between Jan. 1, 2001, and Jan. 31, 2003, according to the indictment.

Shapiro was suspended from his duties as hazzan, or cantor, at Temple Beth Am shortly after the allegations surfaced two months ago.

He was also told not to enter the North Main street synagogue or officiate at religious services.

Mark Itzkowitz, the temple's general counsel and a member of its board of directors, has said temple officials first learned of the allegations Feb. 7, when the woman's family met with Rabbi Loel Weiss, the congregation's spiritual leader.

Police were immediately contacted and an investigation began.

Shapiro, who was the temple's cantor for 25 years, pleaded innocent to sexual assault charges in Quincy District Court on Feb. 21.

Authorities have not said where the alleged crimes occurred, but a judge ordered Shapiro to stay away from the Meadowbrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canton.

He was released on personal recognizance despite a request from the prosecutor that bail be set at $2,500 cash.

A Norfolk County grand jury later began hearing testimony from witnesses.

The case now moves to Norfolk Superior Court, where Shapiro is expected to be arraigned within the next few weeks.

As cantor, Shapiro was responsible for providing music at religious services. He also often worked with boys being prepared for bar mitzvah or girls for bat mitzvah.

Shapiro was ``beloved by the community,'' Itzkowitz said previously.

Temple President Scott Belgard has said temple members were shocked and saddened by the allegations.

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Randolph cantor retires under cloud of rape charge: Shapiro steps down from Temple Beth Am

By FRED HANSON

The Patriot Ledger - April 17, 2003

Charged with rape and sexual assault, the cantor of Temple Beth Am in Randolph has decided to retire.

The temple's board of directors accepted Robert D. Shapiro's retirement notice at a meeting Monday. He will leave the position at the end of June.

``He felt that during this time, where he was subject to serious allegations, it would be equally uncomfortable for Temple Beth Am and for him to continue,'' temple President Scott Belgard said in a statement.

Shapiro, 69, has served as the temple's hazzan, or cantor, for 25 years. His duties included providing the musical portion of religious services and preparing boys and girls for their bar or bat mitzvah.

He was suspended with pay from his duties shortly after his arrest in February and told not to enter the North Main Street synagogue or officiate at religious services.

A Norfolk County grand jury indicted Shapiro April 10 on seven counts of rape and 14 counts of indecent assault on a mentally retarded person.

The sexual assaults allegedly occurred in Randolph between Jan. 1, 2001, and Jan. 31, 2003.

Authorities have not said where the alleged crimes occurred, but a judge ordered Shapiro to stay away from the Meadowbrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canton.

Shapiro pleaded innocent to sexual assault charges in Quincy District Court on Feb. 21. He was released pending his arraignment on the new charges in Norfolk Superior Court in a few weeks.

Mark Itzkowitz, the temple's general counsel and a member of its board of directors, has said that temple officials first learned of the allegations on Feb. 7, when the woman's family met with Rabbi Loel Weiss, the congregation's spiritual leader.

Police were immediately contacted and an investigation began.

Itzkowitz said news of the allegation was a ``sad and painful thing for everyone'' since Shapiro and the woman are members of the Beth Am community.

In a letter to Shapiro accepting the resignation, Belgard said he ``wished him and his wife strength during this difficult time.''

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Cantor at Temple Beth Am facing additional charges; Shapiro indicted on 21 counts for alleged assault of congregant 
By Jason Nielsen
Jewish Advocate - April 24, 2003

On the day additional charges were filed against a Randolph cantor for allegedly sexually assaulting a mentally retarded female congregant, the longtime hazzan submitted his letter of resignation to the president of Temple Beth Am.

A grand jury indicted Cantor Robert Shapiro, 69, on seven counts of rape and 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person on April 9, according to David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating.

The indictments allow the case to be heard at the Superior Court level, where the defendant can be sentenced to time in prison if found guilty.

Shapiro pleaded innocent to three charges of rape and four charges of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person in late February. The cantor will be able to enter a plea at his April 28 arraignment at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham.

The district attorney's office would not make any further comment about the case.

Temple president Scott Belgard said he presented the cantor's resignation letter to the temple's Board of Directors on Monday.

In a letter dated April 9, the cantor's attorney, Arnold S. Solod, wrote that "the circumstances created by the allegations make (Shapiro's) continued service as hazzan of Temple Beth Am equally uncomfortable for the congregation and the hazzan. As the litigation may go on for some time, he believes it would be in the best interest of the temple and him that he retire early from his position as hazzan."

Belgard said he accepted Shapiro's resignation and will continue to pay the cantor until June 30, the retirement date specified in the cantor's letter. His one-year contract was to expire on Aug. 31. Shapiro has served as the congregation's cantor for more than 20 years.

"I believe it allows him to put his strength toward his defense," Belgard said, "and allow the synagogue to continue his duties without him being part of the organization."

The board believed Shapiro was doing the right thing for the congregation, Belgard said.

Rabbi Loel Weiss of Temple Beth Am said the filing of additional charges against the cantor does not change the way the congregation feels about the case. He described the temple community as being in shloshim, the 30-day mourning period following the death of a person.

"It's in that period where people begin to go about the necessary tasks of life with a big piece missing in their heart," Weiss said. "Nobody will feel more upset because there are more counts. Most people here continue to feel sad about the entire situation.

"I know for a fact that many members of the community have reached out to the cantor and the alleged victim. Our community continues to be strong and support each other as it gets ready for Passover."

Weiss said the cantor taught the congregation to be appreciative of the special nusach, or liturgical melodies, for the holidays.

"The quality of services will lack his expert touch, (especially on) one specific prayer called tal on Passover," he said. "We'll certainly miss his rendition."

Congregants have been helping out at services since the cantor was suspended from his duties in February.

The temple formed a committee to explore three areas -- finding an interim cantor during the High Holidays, b'nai mitzvah training, and hiring a new cantor.

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Former cantor pleads innocent to rape; He also facessuit filed by parents of alleged victim

By Dennis Tatz

The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA) - May 1, 2003 

DEDHAM - The parents of a 30-year-old mentally retarded woman are seeking civil damages from the former cantor at Temple Beth Am in Randolph for allegedly raping and molesting their daughter.

The suit, filed March 13 in Norfolk Superior Court, alleges that Robert Shapiro, 69, permanently and emotionally scarred the woman by sexually assaulting her between Jan. 1, 2002, and Feb. 2, 2003.

The lawsuit was amended Tuesday to include Rabbi Loel Weiss, the congregation's spiritual leader, temple president Scott Belgard and the Randolph Hebrew Center, doing business as Temple Beth Am.

Shapiro yesterday pleaded innocent to seven counts of rape and 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person. A Norfolk County grand jury indicted him on the charges last month.

Judge Elizabeth Butler ordered Shapiro to refrain from having any sustained contact with a mentally retarded person while the case is pending.

Shapiro, who is free on personal recognizance, was given five days to turn over his passport to the court's probation department. He is prohibited from leaving the United States.

Shapiro must stay away from the Tower Hill Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Canton, formerly known as the Meadowbrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and have no contact with the alleged victim and her parents.

The judge said Shapiro could return to Temple Beth Am to get his belongings.

Shapiro was suspended with pay from his duties as hazzan, or cantor, shortly after the sexual-assault allegations surfaced a few months ago.

He sent the temple's board of directors a retirement notice two weeks ago.

Shapiro, who had been cantor for 25 years, had been told not to enter the North Main Street synagogue or officiate at religious services.

Mark Itzkowitz, the temple's general counsel and a member of the temple's board of directors, has said temple officials first learned of the allegations Feb. 7, when the woman's family met with Rabbi Weiss.

Police were immediately contacted and an investigation began.

Authorities have not said where the alleged crimes occurred.

The woman reportedly was a member of Temple Beth Am.

As a cantor, Shapiro was responsible for providing the music portion at religious services. He also worked with boys being prepared for bar mitzvah and girls for bat mitzvah.

Boston attorney Sheldon H. Ganz, who represents Shapiro, refused to comment yesterday.

The woman and her parents, who are her legal guardians, are being represented by another Boston attorney, Andrew C. Meyer Jr.

Meyer, who could not be reached for comment, stated in papers filed with the court that the woman's "ability to work and enjoy life has been permanently adversely affected."

Meyer said his clients were seeking an unspecified amount of money for the woman's injuries, including punitive damages, interest and costs.

The suit alleges that Rabbi Weiss and Belgard, who, as president, is responsible for day-to-day management of the temple, failed to exercise reasonable care in supervising Shapiro.

Shapiro is due to return to court for his criminal case May 28.

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Beth Israel decides on an interim rabbi

Proven congregation- healer replaces pair who left under the cloud of a sex scandal

By Sandi Dolbee

San Diego Union - July 10, 1993

Rabbi Robert Shapiro, 65, will join Congregation Beth Israel, the region's oldest and largest Jewish synagogue, next month, according to board president Mary Ann Scher. Shapiro replaces rabbis Michael Sternfield and Laurie Coskey, who left in March after it was disclosed that the two had had an affair.

The affair occurred shortly after Coskey was hired when both rabbis were married to other people. It was made public at a March 18 congregational meeting after Beth Israel leaders sought to replace Coskey, though officials said that relationship had nothing to do with their decision. Sternfield, who led Beth Israel for 20 years, resigned two weeks after the congregational meeting.

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New cantor hired at Temple Beth Am 
By Jason Nielsen
The Jewish Advocate - October 2, 2003

Temple Beth Am in Randolph voted to hire a new cantor this week, ending a seven-month transitional period in which the temple was left with no cantor. Its longtime cantor resigned in April following charges that he sexually assaulted a female congregant. Members did not know whether the overwhelmingly in-favor hand vote for the new cantor would bring closure to the community.

Temple President Scott Belgard explained that the vote Monday night (Sept. 22) decided to maintain Cantor Pharrel Wener, 54, as its regular cantor, approving two one-year contracts that will start Oct. 7. The hour-long meeting started at 8 p.m., and by the end, the 125 people in attendance left with a feeling of moving forward.

"It was bittersweet," said Belgard. "During this seven-month period, we have bonded as a community and our lay governors have done much more than we could have ever hoped. The number of people that came out was a true support of our goal to move on."

Former Cantor Robert Shapiro, 69, was indicted by a grand jury on seven counts of rape and 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person on April 9. Allegations of sexual misconduct by Shapiro first arose at the beginning of the year, and the cantor was immediately suspended by the temple. Temple Beth Am accepted his resignation the same day as his indictment.

David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating, said that Shapiro's next court date is Oct. 7.

TBA's search committee began looking for a new cantor earlier in the summer. Belgard reported that the committee proposed Wener for the new position last July, but the temple board wanted the opportunities for the congregation to meet and hear the candidate. The new cantor appeared at two services, Aug. 16 and Sept. 6, to meet the congregants.

"We really wanted to close one chapter before opening a new one," he said. "With a great number of b'nai mitzvah students in this year's class, the parents are thrilled that we do have someone in place. He started to working with one student prior to be voted in because that bar or bat mitzvah is showing up soon."

Wener will be the fourth cantor in the temple's 50-year history. He grew up in Capetown, South Africa, and studied with David Bagley, also of Capetown. His first High Holiday congregation, he said, was a small congregation about 300 miles from Capetown in a town called Springbok. He graduated from Capetown University and spent five years as an opera singer. Wener moved to the United States in 1990, spending his first 12 years in New York City. He founded a record company, Rockport Records, that specializes in the reissue of historical recordings of Jewish interest. He is also an accountant at Preventive Medicine Associates, a family healthcare provider specializing in addictive medicine in Brookline.

"Music is a very important part of Jewish culture," said Wener, a member of the Cantor's Assembly. "The musical arts brings people closer to the prayer and makes them aware of the tefilot. A lot of things can be done through music that cannot be done through words."

He did not want to comment on the former Cantor Shapiro.

Rabbi Loel Weiss said that for some congregants, the new cantor will provide resolution, while others may see it as a distraction to the ongoing litigation with the former cantor. Though, he added the decision fills a need for the temple.

"It's picking up some of the other pieces," said Weiss. "The community has been incredibly resilient and has continued to function at a high level with lay people taking over many of those jobs. (The congregation) is ready to be able to have a cantor who can provide the professional voice and accouterments of prayer."

The new cantor, he continued, has a beautiful voice. He said that Wener will be able to carry the traditional and modern cantorial melodies that appeal to its congregants.

Many conregants, like Mark Itzkowitz, took on many cantorial duties such as leading Shabbat services. While he enjoyed participating in the services, he said it was something that had to be done. Itzkowitz, who also is the temple's legal counsel, said that the rabbi once told him that the way he sang the melodies it was as if he was conducting a service in New York City.

"This is a task I am more than happy to hand off to the new cantor," said Itzkowitz. "Whatever the temple needed, you had to do. I have heard him a couple of times, and he's wonderful."

Wener's hiring, he continued, only closes the door on a transitional period between cantors. The litigation remains ongoing until it concludes, he said, and the congregation still feels a level of disbelief and disappointment.

"A certain level of sadness will continue until all the litigation continues," Itzkowitz said. "(Hazzan Shapiro's) active participation in temple ended in February. There is going to be noticeable difference. We continue to acclimate."

He believes people are excited in anticipation of the new cantor. Wener, he added, reached out to the congregation, and "we've reached out to him."

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New cantor at Temple Beth Am to begin

By Jason Nielsen

The Jewish Advocate - 29 ELUL 5763 - 6 TISHRI 5764 - SEPTEMBER 26 - OCTOBER 3, 2003

Former Cantor Robert Shapiro, 69, was indicted by a grand jury on seven counts of rape and 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person on April 9. Allegations of sexual misconduct by Shapiro first arose at the beginning of the year, and the cantor was immediately suspended by the temple. Temple Beth Am accepted his resignation the same day as his indictment.

David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating, said that Shapiro's next court date is Oct. 7.

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Cantor gets year of house arrest in rape case

By STEPHANIE PETERS

The Patriot Ledger - September 30, 2005

DEDHAM - A former Randolph cantor accused of raping a mentally retarded woman pleaded guilty to lesser charges in return for a sentence of one year of house arrest and 10 years probation.

Robert Shapiro, 72, the cantor at Temple Beth Am in Randolph for 25 years, changed his plea from innocent yesterday after Norfolk County prosecutors agreed to drop seven counts of rape against him. He pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person.

The victim, then 30, and her family were members of the Randolph synagogue where Shapiro was hazzan, or cantor.

Prosecutors said Shapiro assaulted the woman between Jan. 1, 2001, and Jan. 31, 2003, first at the temple and later at his Randolph home, in his pool, in a car and at Tower Hill Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Canton, formerly known as the Meadowbrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

The victim's sister described Shapiro yesterday as a ``disgusting, despicable, dirty old man'' who forever changed the lives of the woman and her family. The woman's mother described how her daughter and the family was shunned by the congregation after the assaults were reported. The family had belonged to the temple for decades.

``Don't bother atoning because your words will fall on deaf ears,'' the victim's mother said to Shapiro. ``We'll never forgive or forget what you've done to our daughter.''

Shapiro was suspended with pay from his duties at the synagogue shortly after the rape allegations surfaced in early 2003. He retired soon after synagogue officials went to police.

As cantor, Shapiro was responsible for the music at religious services and worked with boys preparing for bar mitzvah and girls preparing for bat mitzvah.

Shapiro's year-long confinement to his Randolph home begins Oct. 17. Under the terms of the agreement, Shapiro will be able to leave his home one day a week to do errands such as going to the grocery store, the bank or the post office. He must register as a sex offender.

The woman's family filed a lawsuit against Shapiro in May, 2003, that also names synagogue leaders who they accuse of failing to properly supervise Shapiro. The suit is still pending in Norfolk Superior Court.

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Former Cantor Admits Indecent Assault
Boston Glober - September 30, 2005

A former cantor at Temple Beth Am in Randolph pleaded guilty yesterday to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally disabled person. Robert Shapiro, 72, struck a plea bargain in Dedham District Court, agreeing to one year of house arrest with an electronic monitor and 10 years of supervised probation. Shapiro also was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with mentally disabled people and to register as a sex offender. Shapiro originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2003, which stemmed from activities at a center in Canton.

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Former Temple Beth Am cantor sentenced for assault and battery

WHDH-TV, MA - October 1, 2005

http://www2.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BOS6394/

DEDHAM (AP) -- A former Randolph cantor charged with raping a mentally retarded woman pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to one year of house arrest and 10 years probation.

Robert Shapiro, 72, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person in return for Norfolk County prosecutors dropping seven counts of rape, the Patriot Ledger of Quincy reported Friday.

Shapiro was the cantor at Temple Beth Am in Randolph for 25 years. He was responsible for music at religious services. He retired in 2003 after synagogue officials reported the allegations to police.

Prosecutors said Shapiro assaulted the woman several times over two years beginning in January 2001. The woman and her family were members of Temple Beth Am.

In court Thursday, the victim's sister described Shapiro as a "disgusting, despicable, dirty old man."

Shapiro's home confinement begins Oct. 17. He will be allowed to leave his home once a week to do errands. He must register as a sex offender.

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Former cantor pleads guilty to indecent assault

Providence Eyewitness News - October 1, 2005

DEDHAM, Mass. A former Randolph cantor charged with raping a mentally retarded woman pleads guilty to lesser charges.

Seventy-two-year-old Robert Shapiro was sentenced to one year of house arrest and ten years probation.

Shapiro pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person. In return, Norfolk County prosecutors dropped seven counts of rape, the Patriot Ledger of Quincy reported Friday.

According to the Patriot Ledger, Shapiro was the cantor at Temple Beth Am in Randolph for 25 years. He was responsible for music at religious services and retired in 2003 after synagogue officials reported the allegations to police.

Prosecutors say Shapiro assaulted the woman several times over two years beginning in January 2001. The woman, who was 30 when the assaults began, and her family were members of Temple Beth Am.

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Victim's family says attacker has too much freedom; Temple's ex- cantor under house arrest for sexual assault on retarded woman
Patriot Ledger - February 2, 2006

Robert Shapiro, 73, of Randolph was sentenced to one year of house arrest and 10 years of probation in September after pleading guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery. Shapiro is the former hazzan, or cantor, at Temple Beth Am.

She said one of the conditions for the house arrest the family agreed to was that Shapiro stay out of Sudbury Farms, the supermarket where the victim and her family shop. She said a friend of the family saw Shapiro at the store last month a few minutes after the victim's sister left.

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Sexual assault suit against Temple Beth Am dismissed

By Ted Siefer

Jewish Advocate - May 12, 2006

A Norfolk Superior Court judge has cleared Temple Beth Am in Randolph and its rabbi of wrongdoing in a lawsuit brought by the family of a woman who was sexually abused by the temple's former cantor.

The parents of the victim had charged the temple's former president, Scott Belgard, and Rabbi Loel Weiss with negligence for failing to prevent cantor Robert Shapiro, 72, from repeatedly sexually assaulting their mentally disabled daughter between 2001 and 2003. The civil suit is still pending against Shapiro.

In a plea agreement in September 2005, Shapiro pleaded guilty to 14 criminal counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person; seven counts of rape were dropped. Shapiro was sentenced to one year of house arrest and 10 years probation.

In granting summary judgment to the temple in the civil suit late last month, Judge Charles Hely wrote that there was "no basis" for a jury to find temple officials negligent.

"The temple had no reason to know that any of these terrible actions were going on," Rabbi Weiss told the Advocate after the ruling. "Therefore, we couldn't have responded. I feel very bad about what happened, but I don't feel responsible."

The mother of the victim expressed dismay at the ruling; her daughter was 30 when the assaults first took place.

What happened "ruined my daughter's life completely; it ruined all our lives," said the mother, who requested that her name not be used to protect the privacy of the victim. "We think the temple had to know [what was going on]."

The victim's mother added that she felt Shapiro's sentence had been too lenient and that he deserved to be in jail.

In its lawsuit, the family claimed that the temple failed to sufficiently investigate or supervise the cantor's behavior after the son of another congregation member had complained of allegedly being touched inappropriately by him. In response to the allegation, which came a month before the victim came forward, the temple instituted an "open door" policy for the cantor's study. The boy's mother testified that "issue was taken care of immediately."

The temple suspended Shapiro in February of 2003 with pay, soon after the sexual assault allegations surfaced. He resigned, after working at the temple for 25 years, two months later.

The mother of the victim said that after she and her husband brought the suit, she felt ostracized from the temple and the wider Jewish community.

"We used to go to temple every Saturday. We were told not to come back. Maybe when this is over, they said, they would welcome us back. Do you think we want to go back ...? They ousted us. They don't talk to us. They don't even look at us [around town]," she said.

"My daughter loved being Jewish, but she doesn't want to go to temple anymore," she added.

Temple leaders acknowledged that a severed relationship with the victim and her family was a casualty of the litigation.

"It's something that we feel a certain amount of regret about," said Mark Itzkowitz, the temple's director and legal counsel. "It's understandable but unfortunate that the litigation went in the direction it did. It's an unfortunate consequence of the whole [experience] that we lost [the family] as members."

Rabbi Weiss added: "Up until the time they sued, we had regular contact with the victim and the family, to provide moral and spiritual support. Once they sued me, I was unable to do that ... For me, that's the saddest part of the whole thing, that after this was brought to light, the family, by its actions, became separated from its support system."

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Ex-cantor ordered to pay $8.4M for abuse; Randolph man admitted to molesting retarded woman left in his care

By SUE REINERT

The Patriot Ledger - September 15, 2006

A former Randolph cantor who admitted molesting a mentally retarded woman must pay $5.2 million to the victim and $750,000 to her parents.

A Norfolk Superior Court jury ruled in favor of the woman and her family yesterday after four hours of deliberation. With interest, the award will total $8.4 million, the family's lawyer, Adam Satin, said today.

The family had sued Robert Shapiro, 73, the cantor at Temple Beth Am in Randolph for 25 years, in 2003 after his assaults came to light.

Shapiro was criminally charged with seven counts of rape in 2003. In September 2005 he pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person in a deal with Norfolk County prosecutors.

He was sentenced to one year of house arrest and 10 years probation. Shapiro is still on house arrest, Satin said.

The verdict yesterday was important to the family ``not for the money but for the vindication they didn't get in the criminal case,'' Satin said. ``It's important for them to have a jury find that this conduct will not be tolerated because it's going to cause harm.''

The victim, now 34, has the mental ability of a five to seven-year-old girl and also suffers from other disabilities, Satin said.

Any trigger that reminds her of the abuse causes her ``to relive this and she obsesses about it,'' he said.

Shapiro assaulted the woman, then 30, between Jan. 1, 2001, and Jan. 31, 2003, first at the temple and later at his Randolph home, in his pool, in a car and at Tower Hill Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Canton, formerly known as the Meadowbrook Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, prosecutors said.

The victim and her family were members of the Randolph synagogue where Shapiro was the hazzan, or cantor.

``He was one of the few people who was allowed to be with her unsupervised because he was so trusted by the family,'' Satin said.

The civil suit initially was filed against Shapiro, the temple, its spiritual leader, Rabbi Loel Weiss, and the former congregation president. But the judge dismissed the other three parties saying there was no evidence to indicate that the temple defendants had reason to know that Shapiro posed a risk.

``It became clear as the case was pending that (Shapiro) had concealed his acts from the temple,'' Satin said.

The attorney said his office will now seek to enforce the jury award against Shapiro.

``We are aware of certain assets,'' he said.

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Cantor to cough up $8.4M for sex abuse

By O'Ryan Johnson

Boston Herald - Friday, September 15, 2006

The former cantor of a Randolph temple who sexually abused a mentally retarded woman for nearly two years must pay $8.4 million to her family, under a judgment filed against him yesterday in Norfolk Civil Court.

"For the family it's a vindication that they really didn't get in the criminal proceedings," said their attorney, Adam Satin, with Lubin & Meyer, P.C.

Robert D. Shapiro, 73, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person in 2005, but cut a deal and managed to avoid jail time. He was sentenced to a year of house arrest and 10 years probation.

Satin said the woman Shapiro admitted to abusing was in her late 20s, but had the mental functioning of a 5- to 7-year-old child. Satin said Shapiro, due to his friendship with the family and his status in the temple, was the only person outside her family who was allowed to see her unsupervised.

"He was truly a trusted friend," Satin said. "He was not just a religious leader. To have that come to light just devastated them."

The abuse happened between 2001 and 2003 in Shapiro's car, the woman's home, and the Randolph temple, Satin said. She relives the abuse each time something reminds her of Shapiro, whether it's a car similar to his or an ice cream cone like ones Shapiro bought her.

"Her therapist said she is not equipped to handle the trauma," Satin said. "When she sees a trigger . . . she would think and relive it as though it's happening to her for the first time."

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How one Boston synagogue met the challenge of the cantor’s sexual abuse 

By Richard Greenberg

Jewish Journal - January 11, 2007

As an attorney representing several victims of sexually predatory Catholic priests, Mark Itzkowitz has witnessed the church's pedophilia scandal from an almost too-close-for-comfort vantage point.

"Some of the details are absolutely horrifying," said Itzkowitz, 49, who lives in the Boston area. "I've seen things that have made my blood run cold."

Not long ago, Itzkowitz's life took a surreal turn when he found himself confronting clergy sexual abuse from a different perspective: The problem had come home to roost in his own synagogue.

Robert Shapiro, the esteemed, longtime cantor of Temple Beth Am, a Conservative synagogue in Randolph, Mass., was accused of repeatedly molesting a mentally challenged congregant, a woman in her late 20s and early 30s when the incidents allegedly occurred between 2001 and 2003.

When the news broke in early February 2003, Beth Am was within days of again renewing the then-70-year-old Shapiro's contract.

"The people in the synagogue would have followed him to the ends of the earth," Itzkowitz said. "He had been there longer than the rabbi -- more than 20 years."

Once the shock of the disclosure wore off, Beth Am leaders regrouped and tried to figure out how to manage the situation. That involved not only ensuring that criminal, civil and moral justice would prevail but also preventing the congregation from disintegrating.

In-house guidelines were nonexistent. And attempts to find advice from officials at the Conservative movement's headquarters were unsuccessful, according to both Itzkowitz, the synagogue board's attorney, and its rabbi, Loel Weiss.

While Jewish morality is founded on the Torah and other sacred texts, "synagogues aren't Coca-Cola or IBM churning out specific policies and procedures on right and wrong," Weiss said. "There is a certain expectation that in a religious institution, people will act properly. But what could have been written on a piece of paper? My mind doesn't think in those terms."

Weiss said the little practical information he found that helped guide him through "this hell," as he put it, was contained in a book about a suburban New Jersey congregation whose rabbi had become involved in a major crime.

"It confirmed my instincts that we needed to give people in the congregation a chance to share their sadness," Weiss said. "Remember that even before the allegations had been confirmed, people were basically sitting shiva for a longtime cantor who was in many cases a friend of theirs."

The task faced by Beth Am was daunting: While the case was being investigated internally -- and by the police -- the rights of the alleged perpetrator and the victim and her family had to be preserved. Meanwhile, the congregation had to be protected. So Shapiro was suspended with pay pending completion of the police investigation.

That probe ultimately revealed that the victim had been assaulted at the synagogue, at Shapiro's home, in his pool, in a car and elsewhere. Shapiro was allowed to be alone with the woman because he was a trusted friend of her family, who eventually sued Shapiro, as well as Beth Am, Weiss and the former congregation president.

The latter three defendants were dismissed from the suit after the judge determined they could not have known that Shapiro posed a risk, according to news accounts. Regarding damage control at Beth Am, Itzkowitz said he resolved to do the opposite of what the Catholic Church had done when its priests became embroiled in controversy.

Rather than circling the wagons, stonewalling and failing to acknowledge the community's anguish, Beth Am officials would be forthcoming, compassionate and responsive, he said.

Since Shapiro had privately tutored many bar and bat mitzvah students, several parents were concerned that their children might also have been victimized. Synagogue representatives were able to assuage their fears, however, noting that there was no evidence of other incidents involving the cantor -- at Beth Am or elsewhere.

"This was not a case where somebody passed the buck to us," Weiss said.

Shapiro originally was charged with seven counts of rape, but as part of a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty in September 2005 to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a mentally retarded person. He was sentenced to one year of house arrest and 10 years probation.

Last year, a civil court jury ordered Shapiro to pay $5.2 million to the victim and $750,000 to her parents -- an award that will total $8.4 million, including interest, according to the lawyer representing the victim and her family.

"If there is such a thing as a victory in this case," Itzkowitz said, it is that Beth Am remained intact.

The 400-family synagogue lost no congregants during the ordeal, except the victim and her family.

"And until they come back," Itzkowitz added, "we haven't really won."

An attorney representing the family did not respond to a JTA request for comment, and an attorney representing Shapiro said his client would not comment.

In the wake of the incident, the synagogue has instituted a policy aimed at preventing another one. Beth Am clergy are now prohibited from being alone in the synagogue with any individual, child or adult.

"It's good in theory," Weiss said, "but it doesn't work from a practical standpoint."

That is one of the many lessons -- practical, moral and spiritual -- that have been learned in the wake of the Shapiro case.

Weiss and Itzkowitz came away with a renewed sense of affection and admiration for the Beth Am community, which they said responded with courage, restraint and cohesiveness.

But because of his vocation, Itzkowitz encountered the ordeal from a unique perspective. As an attorney, he had already seen his share of lives ruined and houses of worship shattered by sexually predatory clergymen.

And as a result, he offered this sobering advice to any congregation: "Don't think it can't happen to you."

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New York State Sex Offender Registry

February 22, 2014

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