Rabbi Accused Of Assaulting Another Boy
Man To Face Charges In Brighton Incident
WCVBTV (Boston) - June 30, 2010
BOSTON -- A rabbi who once taught schoolchildren in Brookline was accused of assaulting a child in Brighton more than 30 years ago, bringing the number of his alleged victims to three.
Stanley Levitt, 64, of Philadelphia, was arraigned Wednesday on one charge of indecent assault and battery on a child, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said. It is the fifth such indictment currently pending against him in Suffolk County.
Levitt was indicted late last year on four counts of the same offense representing offenses he allegedly committed upon two other boys. The latest victim came forward after viewing media reports of the prior cases, according to Assistant District Attorney Wayne Margolis.
Margolis said that the alleged abuse took place during the 1975-1976 academic year, when the victim was a student at the Maimonides School in Brookline.
Levitt, who lived on Chiswick Road in Brighton, taught at that school from 1974 to 1977. He left Massachusetts at some point thereafter, eventually making his way to Philadelphia.
"The victim recalls that he was invited with several other boys to attend a sleepover and study session at the defendant’s home," Margolis said. "The defendant instructed all the boys to shower before going to bed. When the victim exited the shower, the defendant was standing there with a towel and said he needed to towel the defendant off."
It was at that point that Levitt allegedly assaulted the boy, Margolis said.
Margolis led the grand jury investigation that resulted in the most recent indictment and the four that preceded it. Last year's indictments allege that Levitt went to visit one injured student in a Boston hospital and sexually assaulted him and that he assaulted a different boy three times during the course of a weekend visit to Levitt's home while the boy's parents were out of town. Those alleged incidents took place in 1975. All of the victims were about 11 years old.
15 comments:
Ex-teacher to face new sex abuse charge
Boston Globe - June 28, 2010
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/brookline/2010/06/ex-teacher_to_face_new_sex_abu.html
A former teacher at the Maimonides School in Brookline was charged yesterday with indecent assault and battery on a child during the 1970s, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement.
The grand jury indictment is the fifth charge for Stanley Z. Levitt, 64, of Philadelphia, a former Brighton resident. The victim in this case, and two others who came forward last fall, were 11-year-old students at the school while Levitt was employed there.
Four charges were brought against Levitt last year. The third person came forward recently after reading media reports about that case. Levitt will be arraigned Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Co
New Abuse Allegations Against Rabbi
Jewish Exponent - July 1, 2010
http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/21454/
A third man has stepped forward to accuse a rabbi living in Northeast Philadelphia with sexually abusing him more than 30 years ago in Massachusetts.
Rabbi Stanley Z. Levitt, 64, was charged in October with four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child for allegedly abusing two boys he'd taught at the Maimonides School, an Orthodox day school in Brookline, Mass.
According to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, the third individual came forward to police after reading media accounts of the earlier cases. The man was a sixth grader when the incident allegedly took place in the mid-1970s, according to Conley.
Levitt was expected to be arraigned on the new charges this week in Suffolk County Superior Court. In October, he pleaded not guilty to the other charges and was released on $5,000 bail.
In an interview at the time, Levitt declared himself totally innocent and said, "The entire thing is horrendous; it's a nightmare."
The trial had been set to begin on July 12, but it will most likely be pushed back because of the new charges, according to Jake Wark, a spokesman for the district attorney's office.
Levitt, who has lived in Philadelphia on and off for about 30 years, has faced similar charges here, according to court records. Between August 2001 and May 2003, Levitt was arrested on separate occasions for alleging sexually assaulting three boys from the Rhawnhurst section of the Northeast.
In one case, Levitt entered a plea of no contest to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to five years probation. Another case went to trial and resulted in a not-guilty verdict; charges were withdrawn in a third case.
No new charges have been filed in Philadelphia since then. Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for District Attorney Seth Williams, said that her office could not comment on whether or not any further investigation is under way.
Sex-abuse case against rabbi raises larger issues
Boston Globe - July 20, 2010
By Michael Rezendes
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/20/sex_abuse_case_against_rabbi_raises_larger_issues/
Sex-abuse case against rabbi raises larger issues
By Michael Rezendes, Globe Staff | July 20, 2010
Two years ago, Michael Brecher came to prosecutors in Boston with a disturbing allegation: In the 1970s, he said, he had been molested by a rabbi who was teaching sixth grade at one of the region’s most prestigious Jewish day schools, the Maimonides School.
One of Brecher’s classmates came forward at the same time. And last year, after reading news accounts of indecent sexual assault and battery charges filed against Stanley Z. Levitt, a third person said that he, too, was abused by Levitt.
Now, court records show that Levitt might have tried to entice two more students into having intimate contact with him while they took showers in his Brighton home.
One of those former students has told Boston police that Levitt took him and other students on a field trip to Montreal where Levitt directed the students in a ritual purification bath, or mikvah, while all of them were naked, an inappropriate practice, according to an official at a prominent Jewish theological seminary.
Levitt has also faced allegations in Philadelphia, where he lived after leaving Maimonides.
The case, with echoes of clergy sexual abuse incidents in the Catholic Church, is a reflection, scholars say, of similar abuse cases that have taken place in the orthodox Jewish community, where rabbis are held in high regard and the social penalties for criticizing clergy can be high.
A number of prominent orthdox rabbis have faced charges, including Baruch Lanner, the subject of a 2000 expose in The Jewish Week, and Yehuda Kolko, who was featured in a 2006 New York magazine article.
“There is a growing acknowledgment that we have a problem, which has taken a long time,’’ said Yosef Blau, an Orthodox rabbi who is the spiritual adviser at the theological seminary at New York’s Yeshiva University. “Denial has been very powerful in the community.’’
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley has charged Levitt, 64, with molesting three of the students, and the rabbi, now a Philadelphia resident free on $5,000 bail, has pleaded not guilty.
Neither Levitt nor his Boston attorney, Scott Curtis, returned messages from the Globe seeking comment on the allegations made by Maimonides School alumni. But court records show that Curtis is seeking to have the charges against Levitt dismissed based in part on “the age of the allegations.’’
Rabbi David Shapiro, the religious leader at Maimonides, who was an assistant principal in the mid-1970s, and Nathan Katz, the school’s executive director, declined to comment on the allegations by the former students.
Katz, however, issued a statement, saying, “Our hearts go out to the victims of child abuse and we are deeply saddened at the circumstances surrounding this matter, which took place in the mid-1970s.’’ He added that school officials take a variety of measures to ensure the safety of students, including criminal background checks of school employees.
Sex-abuse case against rabbi raises larger issues
Boston Globe - July 20, 2010
By Michael Rezendes
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/20/sex_abuse_case_against_rabbi_raises_larger_issues/
Sex-abuse case against rabbi raises larger issues
By Michael Rezendes, Globe Staff | July 20, 2010
Two years ago, Michael Brecher came to prosecutors in Boston with a disturbing allegation: In the 1970s, he said, he had been molested by a rabbi who was teaching sixth grade at one of the region’s most prestigious Jewish day schools, the Maimonides School.
One of Brecher’s classmates came forward at the same time. And last year, after reading news accounts of indecent sexual assault and battery charges filed against Stanley Z. Levitt, a third person said that he, too, was abused by Levitt.
Now, court records show that Levitt might have tried to entice two more students into having intimate contact with him while they took showers in his Brighton home.
One of those former students has told Boston police that Levitt took him and other students on a field trip to Montreal where Levitt directed the students in a ritual purification bath, or mikvah, while all of them were naked, an inappropriate practice, according to an official at a prominent Jewish theological seminary.
Levitt has also faced allegations in Philadelphia, where he lived after leaving Maimonides.
The case, with echoes of clergy sexual abuse incidents in the Catholic Church, is a reflection, scholars say, of similar abuse cases that have taken place in the orthodox Jewish community, where rabbis are held in high regard and the social penalties for criticizing clergy can be high.
A number of prominent orthdox rabbis have faced charges, including Baruch Lanner, the subject of a 2000 expose in The Jewish Week, and Yehuda Kolko, who was featured in a 2006 New York magazine article.
“There is a growing acknowledgment that we have a problem, which has taken a long time,’’ said Yosef Blau, an Orthodox rabbi who is the spiritual adviser at the theological seminary at New York’s Yeshiva University. “Denial has been very powerful in the community.’’
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley has charged Levitt, 64, with molesting three of the students, and the rabbi, now a Philadelphia resident free on $5,000 bail, has pleaded not guilty.
Neither Levitt nor his Boston attorney, Scott Curtis, returned messages from the Globe seeking comment on the allegations made by Maimonides School alumni. But court records show that Curtis is seeking to have the charges against Levitt dismissed based in part on “the age of the allegations.’’
Rabbi David Shapiro, the religious leader at Maimonides, who was an assistant principal in the mid-1970s, and Nathan Katz, the school’s executive director, declined to comment on the allegations by the former students.
Katz, however, issued a statement, saying, “Our hearts go out to the victims of child abuse and we are deeply saddened at the circumstances surrounding this matter, which took place in the mid-1970s.’’ He added that school officials take a variety of measures to ensure the safety of students, including criminal background checks of school employees.
Six years ago, Levitt pleaded no contest to molesting a boy living in an Orthodox Jewish community in Philadelphia and was later cited for violating probation when he refused treatment at an institute for sexual offenders.
“He basically flunked the sex offender course there because he refused to accept responsibility for what he did,’’ said Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney James Berardinelli, who prosecuted the case.
Activists seeking to raise awareness about sexual abuse by rabbis say the Levitt case is an opportunity for Jewish leaders to continue efforts to overcome the religious obstacles that have discouraged some victims from reporting abuse to police.
The obstacles include traditional Jewish rules, adhered to in some pockets of the Orthodox world, such as a prohibition against “chillul Hashem,’’ bringing shame on God’s name, and against “mesirah,’’ informing on fellow believers to secular authorities.
Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and the author of “Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect its Children,’’ said strict adherence to those practices can create an environment where pedophiles flourish.
“If other adults are willing to keep their secrets, they can have multiple victims,’’ she said. “It’s horrifying.’’
Blau, who began his career as a teacher at Maimonides, in the 1960s, said the concept of mesirah is rooted in the history of the Jewish people, who were often persecuted while living in societies that officially sanctioned anti-Semitism. But he also said that the use of chillul Hashem and mesirah as reasons to avoid reporting sexual abuse by rabbis “is a misapplication of those laws,’’ an opinion underscored by the Rabbinical Council of America in a resolution approved at its convention earlier this year.
Researchers concerned about sexual abuse by rabbis attribute a gradual change in attitudes among orthodox Jews to websites and blogs where victims have felt free to discuss their abuse anonymously. They also cite the example of clergy abuse victims in the Catholic Church, who began speaking out in large numbers after the 2002 scandal in the Boston Archdiocese.
The case against Levitt began unfolding when Brecher and a New York man decided to approach law enforcement authorities in Boston. Brecher, 46, now a Maryland resident, said Levitt sexually abused him while he was a patient at Children’s Hospital recovering from a school accident.
The second man, a 46-year-old New Yorker who asked that his name be withheld, said Levitt molested him on three occasions in the shower area of his Brighton home during a three-night visit while his parents were on vacation. The Globe does not publish the names of alleged sexual abuse victims who wish to remain anonymous.
Six years ago, Levitt pleaded no contest to molesting a boy living in an Orthodox Jewish community in Philadelphia and was later cited for violating probation when he refused treatment at an institute for sexual offenders.
“He basically flunked the sex offender course there because he refused to accept responsibility for what he did,’’ said Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney James Berardinelli, who prosecuted the case.
Activists seeking to raise awareness about sexual abuse by rabbis say the Levitt case is an opportunity for Jewish leaders to continue efforts to overcome the religious obstacles that have discouraged some victims from reporting abuse to police.
The obstacles include traditional Jewish rules, adhered to in some pockets of the Orthodox world, such as a prohibition against “chillul Hashem,’’ bringing shame on God’s name, and against “mesirah,’’ informing on fellow believers to secular authorities.
Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and the author of “Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect its Children,’’ said strict adherence to those practices can create an environment where pedophiles flourish.
“If other adults are willing to keep their secrets, they can have multiple victims,’’ she said. “It’s horrifying.’’
Blau, who began his career as a teacher at Maimonides, in the 1960s, said the concept of mesirah is rooted in the history of the Jewish people, who were often persecuted while living in societies that officially sanctioned anti-Semitism. But he also said that the use of chillul Hashem and mesirah as reasons to avoid reporting sexual abuse by rabbis “is a misapplication of those laws,’’ an opinion underscored by the Rabbinical Council of America in a resolution approved at its convention earlier this year.
Researchers concerned about sexual abuse by rabbis attribute a gradual change in attitudes among orthodox Jews to websites and blogs where victims have felt free to discuss their abuse anonymously. They also cite the example of clergy abuse victims in the Catholic Church, who began speaking out in large numbers after the 2002 scandal in the Boston Archdiocese.
The case against Levitt began unfolding when Brecher and a New York man decided to approach law enforcement authorities in Boston. Brecher, 46, now a Maryland resident, said Levitt sexually abused him while he was a patient at Children’s Hospital recovering from a school accident.
The second man, a 46-year-old New Yorker who asked that his name be withheld, said Levitt molested him on three occasions in the shower area of his Brighton home during a three-night visit while his parents were on vacation. The Globe does not publish the names of alleged sexual abuse victims who wish to remain anonymous.
In a Globe interview, the New York man said that as a result of Levitt’s alleged abuse he, too, became a sexual abuser and was arrested in 1999 on a related charge. “A child is nothing but a piece of clay,’’ he said. “Anything he sees, touches or does, or is done to him, has an effect.’’
After Brecher and the New York man made their accusations, the third alleged victim stepped forward, and several additional Maimonides alumni have talked with investigators or testified before the Suffolk grand jury that handed up the indictments against Levitt, according to court records.
In addition, the former student who told investigators about the alleged mikvah incident in Montreal also said that his father, after learning of the incident, had a loud argument with Levitt and informed school authorities, according to court records. Yet Shapiro, the assistant principal at the time, testified to the grand jury that the school received no serious complaints about Levitt and that the rabbi left in good standing.
Neither Shapiro nor Katz returned messages from the Globe seeking to resolve the apparent inconsistency.
Whether or not Maimonides officials received complaints about Levitt in the 1970s, it is clear that he did not return to the school after the 1976-1977 academic year and that he was subsequently charged with molesting three boys living in an Orthodox Jewish community in Philadelphia. In the first case, Levitt was found not guilty. In the second case, he pleaded no contest and received a five-year sentence of probation, which expired last December. And in the third case, the alleged victim withdrew his charges.
The statute of limitations for indecent assault and battery on a child in Massachusetts, the time after a crime during which prosecutors may file charges, is 27 years. But Conley was able to cite Levitt with 35-year-old allegations because the clock on the statute stops ticking when an alleged perpetrator leaves the state. Although Levitt’s whereabouts in the years right after he left Maimonides, in 1977, are unclear, prosecutors say he has been living outside Massachusetts since the early 1980s.
Still, Curtis is arguing that the decades that have elapsed since Levitt was teaching religious studies in Brookline have rendered the statements made by his accusers “inherently unreliable.’’ He also argues that prosecutors failed to present corroborating evidence to the grand jury that handed up the indictments.
David Deakin, chief of the Suffolk Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau, said prosecutors believe it is important to pursue child sexual abuse accusations, even if they are decades old, in part to prevent perpetrators from offending again.
“One of the things we know about pedophilia is that it tends to be a chronic condition, especially if it’s not treated and even when it is treated,’’ he said. “We have to think about the children the alleged offender may prey on in the future.’’
Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney representing Brecher, agreed, saying the Levitt case is a cautionary tale for anyone working in an institution that serves children.
“Supervisors must be able to notice red flags when supervising adults working with children in institutional settings,’’ he said. “It’s naive to think that sexual abusers stop abusing children because they move from one location to another.’’
Michael Rezendes can be reached at rezendes@globe.com.
In a Globe interview, the New York man said that as a result of Levitt’s alleged abuse he, too, became a sexual abuser and was arrested in 1999 on a related charge. “A child is nothing but a piece of clay,’’ he said. “Anything he sees, touches or does, or is done to him, has an effect.’’
After Brecher and the New York man made their accusations, the third alleged victim stepped forward, and several additional Maimonides alumni have talked with investigators or testified before the Suffolk grand jury that handed up the indictments against Levitt, according to court records.
In addition, the former student who told investigators about the alleged mikvah incident in Montreal also said that his father, after learning of the incident, had a loud argument with Levitt and informed school authorities, according to court records. Yet Shapiro, the assistant principal at the time, testified to the grand jury that the school received no serious complaints about Levitt and that the rabbi left in good standing.
Neither Shapiro nor Katz returned messages from the Globe seeking to resolve the apparent inconsistency.
Whether or not Maimonides officials received complaints about Levitt in the 1970s, it is clear that he did not return to the school after the 1976-1977 academic year and that he was subsequently charged with molesting three boys living in an Orthodox Jewish community in Philadelphia. In the first case, Levitt was found not guilty. In the second case, he pleaded no contest and received a five-year sentence of probation, which expired last December. And in the third case, the alleged victim withdrew his charges.
The statute of limitations for indecent assault and battery on a child in Massachusetts, the time after a crime during which prosecutors may file charges, is 27 years. But Conley was able to cite Levitt with 35-year-old allegations because the clock on the statute stops ticking when an alleged perpetrator leaves the state. Although Levitt’s whereabouts in the years right after he left Maimonides, in 1977, are unclear, prosecutors say he has been living outside Massachusetts since the early 1980s.
Still, Curtis is arguing that the decades that have elapsed since Levitt was teaching religious studies in Brookline have rendered the statements made by his accusers “inherently unreliable.’’ He also argues that prosecutors failed to present corroborating evidence to the grand jury that handed up the indictments.
David Deakin, chief of the Suffolk Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau, said prosecutors believe it is important to pursue child sexual abuse accusations, even if they are decades old, in part to prevent perpetrators from offending again.
In a Globe interview, the New York man said that as a result of Levitt’s alleged abuse he, too, became a sexual abuser and was arrested in 1999 on a related charge. “A child is nothing but a piece of clay,’’ he said. “Anything he sees, touches or does, or is done to him, has an effect.’’
After Brecher and the New York man made their accusations, the third alleged victim stepped forward, and several additional Maimonides alumni have talked with investigators or testified before the Suffolk grand jury that handed up the indictments against Levitt, according to court records.
In addition, the former student who told investigators about the alleged mikvah incident in Montreal also said that his father, after learning of the incident, had a loud argument with Levitt and informed school authorities, according to court records. Yet Shapiro, the assistant principal at the time, testified to the grand jury that the school received no serious complaints about Levitt and that the rabbi left in good standing.
Neither Shapiro nor Katz returned messages from the Globe seeking to resolve the apparent inconsistency.
Whether or not Maimonides officials received complaints about Levitt in the 1970s, it is clear that he did not return to the school after the 1976-1977 academic year and that he was subsequently charged with molesting three boys living in an Orthodox Jewish community in Philadelphia. In the first case, Levitt was found not guilty. In the second case, he pleaded no contest and received a five-year sentence of probation, which expired last December. And in the third case, the alleged victim withdrew his charges.
The statute of limitations for indecent assault and battery on a child in Massachusetts, the time after a crime during which prosecutors may file charges, is 27 years. But Conley was able to cite Levitt with 35-year-old allegations because the clock on the statute stops ticking when an alleged perpetrator leaves the state. Although Levitt’s whereabouts in the years right after he left Maimonides, in 1977, are unclear, prosecutors say he has been living outside Massachusetts since the early 1980s.
Still, Curtis is arguing that the decades that have elapsed since Levitt was teaching religious studies in Brookline have rendered the statements made by his accusers “inherently unreliable.’’ He also argues that prosecutors failed to present corroborating evidence to the grand jury that handed up the indictments.
David Deakin, chief of the Suffolk Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau, said prosecutors believe it is important to pursue child sexual abuse accusations, even if they are decades old, in part to prevent perpetrators from offending again.
“One of the things we know about pedophilia is that it tends to be a chronic condition, especially if it’s not treated and even when it is treated,’’ he said. “We have to think about the children the alleged offender may prey on in the future.’’
Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney representing Brecher, agreed, saying the Levitt case is a cautionary tale for anyone working in an institution that serves children.
“Supervisors must be able to notice red flags when supervising adults working with children in institutional settings,’’ he said. “It’s naive to think that sexual abusers stop abusing children because they move from one location to another.’’
Michael Rezendes can be reached at rezendes@globe.com.
Neither Shapiro nor Katz returned messages from the Globe seeking to resolve the apparent inconsistency.
Whether or not Maimonides officials received complaints about Levitt in the 1970s, it is clear that he did not return to the school after the 1976-1977 academic year and that he was subsequently charged with molesting three boys living in an Orthodox Jewish community in Philadelphia. In the first case, Levitt was found not guilty. In the second case, he pleaded no contest and received a five-year sentence of probation, which expired last December. And in the third case, the alleged victim withdrew his charges.
The statute of limitations for indecent assault and battery on a child in Massachusetts, the time after a crime during which prosecutors may file charges, is 27 years. But Conley was able to cite Levitt with 35-year-old allegations because the clock on the statute stops ticking when an alleged perpetrator leaves the state. Although Levitt’s whereabouts in the years right after he left Maimonides, in 1977, are unclear, prosecutors say he has been living outside Massachusetts since the early 1980s.
Still, Curtis is arguing that the decades that have elapsed since Levitt was teaching religious studies in Brookline have rendered the statements made by his accusers “inherently unreliable.’’ He also argues that prosecutors failed to present corroborating evidence to the grand jury that handed up the indictments.
David Deakin, chief of the Suffolk Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau, said prosecutors believe it is important to pursue child sexual abuse accusations, even if they are decades old, in part to prevent perpetrators from offending again.
“One of the things we know about pedophilia is that it tends to be a chronic condition, especially if it’s not treated and even when it is treated,’’ he said. “We have to think about the children the alleged offender may prey on in the future.’’
Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney representing Brecher, agreed, saying the Levitt case is a cautionary tale for anyone working in an institution that serves children.
“Supervisors must be able to notice red flags when supervising adults working with children in institutional settings,’’ he said. “It’s naive to think that sexual abusers stop abusing children because they move from one location to another.’’
Michael Rezendes can be reached at rezendes@globe.com.
Post a Comment