The problem with Charlie: Brooklyn DA enabling Jewish sex offenders?

 

by Vicki Polin
Examiner - April 26, 2012

Over the last several weeks it’s been made public that the Brooklyn District Attorney, Charles Hynes, has given alleged sex offenders who are orthodox Jews exemptions when it comes to not naming individuals who might have molested Jewish children.

Hynes reasoning for the non-disclosure is that the orthodox community is of a “tight-knit and insular” nature, even though he is violating the Freedom of Information law in New York.  

 

Charles Hynes seems to be forgetting that in America there is a separation between church and state and that pedophila has no religion.

Just look back at recent history and the case of Warren Jeffs, who is a past president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints.  Jeffs group too was a tight-knit and insular community, and even so Jeffs was named publicly prior to his conviction after sexually assaulting young girls in his his polygamous community.  Because of constitutional law, there were no special exceptions made.

Over the last several weeks it’s been made public that the Brooklyn District Attorney, Charles Hynes, has given alleged sex offenders who are orthodox Jews exemptions when it comes to not naming individuals who might have molested Jewish children.

Hynes reasoning for the non-disclosure is that the orthodox community is of a “tight-knit and insular” nature, even though he is violating the Freedom of Information law in New York.  

Charles Hynes seems to be forgetting that in America there is a separation between church and state and that pedophila has no religion.

Just look back at recent history and the case of Warren Jeffs, who is a past president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints.  Jeffs group too was a tight-knit and insular community, and even so Jeffs was named publicly prior to his conviction after sexually assaulting young girls in his his polygamous community.  Because of constitutional law, there were no special exceptions made.

 

Another tight-knit and insular community which has issues with sexual abuse is the Amish.  Once again there were no exemptions made in keeping the identities of their alleged sexual predators names there private.

Over the years there have been many claims of corruption made against Charles Hynes and his office in Brooklyn when it comes to sex crimes.  

A few years ago Charles Hynes office set up the Kol Tzedek Hotline  which  was supposed to bridge the gap between the Jewish and secular worlds.  Instead it appears that it was just one more example in which a select group of orthodox rabbis had access for controlling which cases were prosecuted.

According a recent Jewish Week article, “Abuse cases dates suggest the Brooklyn DA is cooking up numbers for Kol Tzedek Hotline“ -- At least eight sex abuse cases identified by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office as Kol Tzedek cases were actually reported years before the advent of the confidential hotline, The Jewish Week has learned. This information calls into question the reliability of the statistics the DA has used to tout the success of the hotline.”

In statements made to the media Charles Hynes reported that out of 90 reports through their hotline there have been 14 convictions.  According to the Jewish Week several of these convictions were made prior to the creation of Kol Tzedek.  When The Jewish week asked why cases that were reported before the advent of Kol Tzedek are now considered a part of it, DA spokesman Jerry Schmetterer told The Jewish Week that the DA “made them part of Kol Tzedek.”  When asked to clarify by what criteria that decision was made, Schmetterer replied that he had “no further comment.”

Assemblyman Dov Hikind suggests that Charles Hynes's policy is motivated by political pressure from powerful rabbis. "Why he will not release information that other district attorneys release readily to the public because it is in the public interest, I just don’t get that . . . I do believe that Charles Hynes is playing politics with children’s lives."

According to the article “Hikind Supoenaed on Sex - Abuse Information”, written by Hella Winston of the New York Jewish Week  “State Assembly member Dov Hikind was subpoenaed back in 2008 to provide testimony and files he has compiled about rabbis and yeshiva employees who have allegedly sexually abused children under their charge, and rabbinic leaders who may have protected the abusers.”

According to reports Hikind had said he assembled detailed dossiers on “hundreds” of such cases. But he said he would “go to jail for 10 years” rather than reveal the names of the alleged victims, whom he has guaranteed anonymity.

At the time Hikind caught a lot of flack after stating on a radio show “that he has worked with a chasidic man who has come to him acknowledging he has repeatedly molested children, and confesses to one incident as recently as two months ago.” At the time Hikind said he has gotten the man into therapy with a “top person in the field” and has declined to disclose his name or tell law enforcement authorities about what he knows.

Hikind claimed that he was not a mandated reporter, even though he is a New York State Assembly member.

According to Shmyra Rosenberg, author of the FailedMessiah blog, back in November of 2011 in a closed meeting meant only for pulpit rabbis, Agudah security evicted anyone not pre-approved to attend. Then Agudath Israel of America's General Counsel told the handpicked audience how to deal with claims of child sex abuse in a way that skirts mandatory reporting law. And he claimed the Brooklyn DA, Charles Hynes, personally approved.

A few weeks ago of the state of New York clarified the mandated reporting law in which it states that rabbis, guidance counselor, teachers, social workers, school nurses, administrators and or other staff members who work or teach in Jewish schools can no longer falsely claim exemption from reporting suspicions of child abuse to the police or child protective services.  They also stated that it is illegal to contact a rabbi first to obtain permission to report.  This was a major victory for orthodox children.  This is the first time in the history of the state of New York their civil rights are being protected and have a chance to grow up in an abuse free environment.  The problem is that children in Brooklyn, still have to contend with the shenanigans of Charles Hynes and his cronies.

View slideshow: The problems with Charlie

 

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