Case of Rabbi Moishe Turner
(AKA: Moshe Turner)
(AKA: Moshe Turner)
Monsey, NY
Suffern, NY
Suffern, NY
Convicted on charges of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy on seven different occasions. This is another case in which a person states he was a rabbi, and others in the community state he is not. According to Jewish law, a rabbi is a teacher, often ordained by another rabbi, but not necessarily. So by denying he's a rabbi is nothing more then a way to deny clergy sexual abuse occurs. The vast number of rabbis in the chasidic world do not have a synagogue or work in yeshivas (Jewish schools).
According to Judaism a rabbi is a teacher. In the more religious world just about every male who went to a yeshiva is allowed to call themselves a rabbi. For more information on the history of rabbinic ordination: Click Here
According to Judaism a rabbi is a teacher. In the more religious world just about every male who went to a yeshiva is allowed to call themselves a rabbi. For more information on the history of rabbinic ordination: Click Here
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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:
2011
- Spring Valley Rabbi Accused of Sodomizing Boys (10/23/2011)
- Man, 53, Arrested For Sexually Abusing 14-Year-Old Boy (10/24/2011)
- (10/25/2011)
- Rockland County Man Accused Of Sexually Abusing 14-Year-Old Boy (10/25/2011)
2012
- Accused Ramapo Molester Indicted (04/19/2012)
- Come Support the Victims of Mosher Turner in Court (05/09/2012)
2013
- 2 convictions in Orthodox child sex cases (01/18/2013)
- Monsey sex offender accused of attending same wedding as victim (10/07/2013)
- Judge: Monsey sex offender Moishe Turner violated probation (12/13/2013)
- Local Perv Violates Probation (12/27/2013)
2014
- CALL TO ACTION (01/05/2014)
-
Monsey sex offender sentenced to 90 days for violating probation (01/07/2014)
Also see:
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Spring Valley Rabbi Accused of Sodomizing Boys
News 12 - October 23, 2011
Ramapo police arrested 58-year-old Rabbi Moishe Turner earlier this week for allegedly sodomizing boys.
The Monsey resident was arraigned in Spring Valley Village Court yesterday, and charged with seven counts of criminal sex acts in the second degree, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
The religious leader posted bail yesterday, and is expected back in court on Oct. 27. His case is being handled by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office.
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By Shelley NG
WPIX - October 24, 2011
RAMAPO, N.Y. (WPIX)— Ramapo Police have arrested and charged a 58-year-old man for sexually abusing a 14-year-old-boy in Monsey.
Cops say Moishe Turner of Dana Road in Spring Valley was arrested following an October 19 investigation about a report of sexual abuse.
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ABC NEWS - October 25, 2011
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Rockland County Man Accused Of Sexually Abusing 14-Year-Old Boy
CBS News New York - October 25, 2011
RAMAPO, NY (CBSNewYork) – Police have arrested a 58-year-old Rockland County man, accusing him of a sex crime against a child.
Ramapo police say Moishe Turner of Spring Valley sexually abused a 14-year-old boy.
Turner faces seven sex crime charges, including endangering the welfare of a child.
Police say they’re still investigating and expect to file more charges.
Turner is being held in the Rockland County Jail.
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News 12 -
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Accused Ramapo Molester Indicted
Rockland County Times - April 19, 2012
Moishe Turner, age 58, of 5 Dana Road in Spring Valley was indicted
on April 11, 2012 by a Rockland County Grand Jury for the crimes of
Criminal Sexual Act in the 2nd Degree, a felony (4 Counts), Sexual Abuse
in the 3rd Degree (4 Counts) and Endangering the Welfare of a Child,
misdemeanors.
District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe stated that on or about July of 2011, on several occasions, in Spring Valley, NY, defendant had oral sexual contact and anal sexual contact with a 14-year-old boy who is known to him. The DA said the defendant also fondled the boy’s penis with his hand. According to sources in the Orthodox community, Turner’s misdeeds were known for years and with multiple victims, however it took considerable effort and courage for a victim to finally come forward and pursue criminal charges against him.
Turner calls himself a Rabbi although he does not have a following or practice as a Rabbi. It is common for men in the religious community to technically be Rabbis by virtue of their education, but not be spiritual leaders of an actual congregation.
Come Support the Victims of Mosher Turner in Court
CALA-NY - May 9, 2012
Wednesday May 9th in the morning, will be the court hearing for Moishe Turner in New City, NY. Please attend, and show the judge that Jews don’t tolerate molesters.
Rockland County Times - April 19, 2012
District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe stated that on or about July of 2011, on several occasions, in Spring Valley, NY, defendant had oral sexual contact and anal sexual contact with a 14-year-old boy who is known to him. The DA said the defendant also fondled the boy’s penis with his hand. According to sources in the Orthodox community, Turner’s misdeeds were known for years and with multiple victims, however it took considerable effort and courage for a victim to finally come forward and pursue criminal charges against him.
Turner calls himself a Rabbi although he does not have a following or practice as a Rabbi. It is common for men in the religious community to technically be Rabbis by virtue of their education, but not be spiritual leaders of an actual congregation.
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CALA-NY - May 9, 2012
Wednesday May 9th in the morning, will be the court hearing for Moishe Turner in New City, NY. Please attend, and show the judge that Jews don’t tolerate molesters.
Rockland County Criminal Court
1 South Main Street
New City, NY 10956
1 South Main Street
New City, NY 10956
Date: 05/09/2012
Part: WAK
Party Name: TURNER, MOISHE
Room: 4
Case Number: 00140-2012
Case Attorney: GRIBETZ, KEN
Judge: KELLY,W
Charge: 130.45-01
Part: WAK
Party Name: TURNER, MOISHE
Room: 4
Case Number: 00140-2012
Case Attorney: GRIBETZ, KEN
Judge: KELLY,W
Charge: 130.45-01
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2 convictions in Orthodox child sex cases
LoHud - January 18, 2013
NEW CITY — Two members of Rockland’s Orthodox Jewish
community have pleaded guilty to charges of sexually abusing children,
heartening children protection advocates who have been pushing for
increased awareness and prosecutions of such cases. A third man is
facing pre-trial hearings in County Court.
A 58-year-old Monsey man admitted in court Friday that he had anal sex with a 14-year-old boy.
The admission came after a judge promised the man a sentence of 10 years’ probation to spare the child from having to testify.
Moishe
Turner of 5 Dana Road, a heavy-set man with a long beard streaked with
gray, had been accused of having anal and oral sex with the boy on seven
occasions during July 2011.
Turner
was the second person who avoided incarceration this week by pleading
guilty to a sexual crime involving a child. He’s been free on $75,000
bail and awaits sentencing March 19.
Herschel
Taubenfeld, 33, once a teacher in the New Square Hasidic community,
admitted forcible touching a young boy during 2011. The admission came
in exchange for six years’ probation on a misdemeanor charge handled in
New Square Justice Court.
Taubenfeld
originally had been charged in December 2011 with with 10 counts of
forcible touching, 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child and
10 counts of third-degree sex abuse, all misdemeanors.
Another man, Dovid Kohn of Monsey, 59, faces 40 criminal counts of having oral sex with a girl when she was between 12 and 15.
Kohn
is currently challenging telephone conversations between him and the
girl taped by police as inaudible at pretrial hearings in Rockland
County Court. Prosecutors and Ramapo police said the girl, now in her
20s, remains a witness in the case.
Shmuel
Dym, 32, of Monsey is fighting his guilty plea to sexually molesting a
boy. Supreme Court Justice William Kelly has twice turned down Dym’s
request to withdraw his guilty plea.
The
increased prosecution of sex attacks on children within the Hasidic and
ultra-Orthodox community has been welcomed by advocates for children.
The advocates said police and prosecutors are just skimming the surface,
arguing there are unreported sexual attacks on children.
"The epidemic of child-molestation threatens an entire generation of
children,” said Monsey-based Rabbi Noson Leiter, founder of Help Rescue
Our Children. “Many of these molesters are arrogant, narcissistic,
deceptive, and downright evil. Even though some of them appear unable to
control themselves, that is because of choices they repeatedly and
intentionally made.”Leiter, a leader of
Torah Jews for Decency in Monsey, said Taubenfeld’s guilty plea “is a
trail-blazing case — the first in which a survivor from within New
Square prosecuted a molester within the community.”
He said he hopes other families will find the strength to come forward and fight off community pressure not to report sexual abuse. He praised the Ramapo police for their efforts when told about children being abused.
"Taubenfeld's own admission to molestation charges also confirms that current New Square leadership who clearly failed to stop this vile, manipulative ‘educator’ and is unqualified to deal with the molestation crisis,” Leiter said.
Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said the religious community has been more open with police and prosecutors. He said historically the major issue confronting law enforcement was the “insular community often protected the accused at the expense of the victims.”
Zugibe said he was encouraged by the Taubenfeld case. He said families in the religious community have “recognized finally that if you protect the victims all you are doing is creating a new generation of offenders and victims.”
“In the latest cases, particularly Taubenfeld, I have to credit the community for being more forthcoming,” Zugibe said. “We have a long way to go. I am hopeful this is a new trend.”
Families face being kicked out of the religious community and having their children denied schooling and services.
The family of the boy abused by Turner faced pressure from the community leaders to drop out of the case, authorities said.
Prosecutor Jennifer Parietti said Friday in court that Zugibe approved the no-prison sentence for Turner.
He said he hopes other families will find the strength to come forward and fight off community pressure not to report sexual abuse. He praised the Ramapo police for their efforts when told about children being abused.
"Taubenfeld's own admission to molestation charges also confirms that current New Square leadership who clearly failed to stop this vile, manipulative ‘educator’ and is unqualified to deal with the molestation crisis,” Leiter said.
Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said the religious community has been more open with police and prosecutors. He said historically the major issue confronting law enforcement was the “insular community often protected the accused at the expense of the victims.”
Zugibe said he was encouraged by the Taubenfeld case. He said families in the religious community have “recognized finally that if you protect the victims all you are doing is creating a new generation of offenders and victims.”
“In the latest cases, particularly Taubenfeld, I have to credit the community for being more forthcoming,” Zugibe said. “We have a long way to go. I am hopeful this is a new trend.”
Families face being kicked out of the religious community and having their children denied schooling and services.
The family of the boy abused by Turner faced pressure from the community leaders to drop out of the case, authorities said.
Prosecutor Jennifer Parietti said Friday in court that Zugibe approved the no-prison sentence for Turner.
Turner faced seven years in state prison under the felony charge. The
case was down for a pretrial hearing with Ramapo Detectives Peg
Braddock and Robert Fitzgerald ready to testify.
She told Kelly that she supported the sentence “to spare this victim the difficulties of the trial.”
“The victim is under tremendous pressure,” she said. “This plea will relieve that.”
Turner admitted he had anal sex with the boy under questioning from Parietti in July 2011. He admitted he knew the boy was 14, making him incapable of consent under the law.
Turner’s lawyer, former District Attorney Kenneth Gribetz, said after court that he’s not aware of any rabbi or religious community leader putting pressure of the boy or his family.
“Our hope is the victim can go on with his life,” Gribetz said. “There was no pressure from the community. I think justice will be served. Our client is very sorry and he’s happy to put this behind him.”
Turner, who prayed before court, doesn’t speak fluent English. He speaks Yiddish and needed a translator to tell him what was being discussed in court and for his responses.
Kelly and Gribetz made sure Turner agreed he was voluntarily pleading guilty to the charges and signed a waiver giving up his right to appeal.
Monsey sex offender accused of attending same wedding as victim
By Steve Lieberman
LoHud - October 7, 2013
“The victim is under tremendous pressure,” she said. “This plea will relieve that.”
Turner admitted he had anal sex with the boy under questioning from Parietti in July 2011. He admitted he knew the boy was 14, making him incapable of consent under the law.
Turner’s lawyer, former District Attorney Kenneth Gribetz, said after court that he’s not aware of any rabbi or religious community leader putting pressure of the boy or his family.
“Our hope is the victim can go on with his life,” Gribetz said. “There was no pressure from the community. I think justice will be served. Our client is very sorry and he’s happy to put this behind him.”
Turner, who prayed before court, doesn’t speak fluent English. He speaks Yiddish and needed a translator to tell him what was being discussed in court and for his responses.
Kelly and Gribetz made sure Turner agreed he was voluntarily pleading guilty to the charges and signed a waiver giving up his right to appeal.
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Monsey sex offender accused of attending same wedding as victim
By Steve Lieberman
LoHud - October 7, 2013
A 59-year-old Monsey man faces a court hearing on charges that could put him in jail for violating his probationary sentence for sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.
The violations include Moishe Turner attending the same wedding as the boy , failing to find suitable full-time work, and not informing his probation officer of a car he was driving, according to the Rockland District Attorney’s Office.
The hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15 before state Supreme Court Justice William Kelly at the Rockland Courthouse in New City.
Turner’s lawyer, Kenneth Gribetz, countered Turner was invited to the wedding and didn’t know the boy would be there, and the event was held in a school closed for summer recess and used as a catering hall.
Gribetz said synagogues commonly use religious schools as catering halls for weddings and other social events during the summer recess months. The wedding Turner was invited to was at 10 p.m. July 25 at a closed school in Kaser, Gribetz said. The young boy had not been invited, he said.
“He didn’t know the child would be attending,” Gribetz said. “They didn’t speak with each other and they didn’t have any contact. ”
Gribetz said Turner works as a job inventory clerk for a business in Hillburn.
Turner is charged with second-degree criminal contempt for violating an order of protection by being within 500 feet of the young man and for being on school grounds.
Prosecutor Jennifer Parietti said Turner could get a jail sentence if state Supreme Court Justice William Kelly finds him guilty of the violations after the hearing and incarceration is warranted.
Paretti said six months in jail is possible because that sentence would maintain Turner’s 10-years probation. The lengthy probation is erased with a state prison sentence or more than six months in jail, she said.
Turner pleaded guilty Jan. 18 to second-degree criminal sex act, a charge that could have brought seven years in prison. He admitted having anal and oral sex with the boy on seven occasions during July 2011.
Parietti offered the plea agreement and told Kelly in court that the family didn't want the boy testifying in open court.
Kelly sentenced Turner to 10 years probation and then held a short hearing and classified Turner as a Level 2 sex offender, a designation stating there’s a moderate chance of repeating the crime.
Judge: Monsey sex offender Moishe Turner violated probation
Monsey man may face prison
By Steve Lieberman
LoHud - December 13, 2013
Local Perv Violates Probation
Rockland County Times - December 27, 2013
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Judge: Monsey sex offender Moishe Turner violated probation
Monsey man may face prison
By Steve Lieberman
LoHud - December 13, 2013
A state judge has found a Monsey sex offender violated portions of his probation, opening the door for a jail or prison sentence on a felony charge.
Moishe Turner, 60, failed to notify his probation officer about a car he was driving and had entered a Viznitz Hasidic girl’s school which was being used for a wedding on July 25, state Supreme Court Justice William Kelly found.
Kelly, however, dismissed a probation charge that Turner violated an order of protection prohibiting him from being within 500 feet of his victim. Turner was invited to the wedding and the young man was there helping out, but there was no evidence he came into contact with Turner.
Kelly scheduled sentencing on the probation violations for Jan. 7. Turner could be jailed or allowed to serve out his 10-year probation.
District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said his office will likely recommend jail time but no final decision had been made. Prosecutors want jail time.
Turner’s lawyers, Kenneth Gribetz and Deborah Wolikow-Loewenberg, will ask Kelly to maintain probation. Gribetz called the charges technical violations, noting school buildings in the Hasidic community are used for weddings and Turner didn’t know the young man was at the celebration.
“We’re hopeful the judge will extend his probation rather than send this man to prison or jail,” Gribetz said.
Turner was sentenced to 10 years probation on his Jan. 18 guilty plea to second-degree criminal sex act, which could have brought him seven years in prison. He admitted to having sex with the 14-year-old boy seven times in July 2011.
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Local Perv Violates Probation
Rockland County Times - December 27, 2013
Notorious molester Moishe Turner of Monsey has been found to be in violation of his probation by Supreme Court Judge William Kelly. The ruling pertains to an incident on July 25, in which Turner attended a wedding at Viznitz Hasidic girl’s school in a car unregistered with his probation officer.
The judge dismissed a more substantive claim that Turner had violated an order of protection by attending the wedding, as the victim of his sexual abuse was also at the wedding. The judge stated that the facts showed Turner was invited to the wedding, was unaware of the child’s presence and did not come into contact with him.
A sentencing hearing will be held of January 7. Prosecutors are seeking a stint in jail over the violation. Turner’s lawyers Kenneth Gribetz and Deborah Wolikow-Loewenberg described the violation as a technicality.
On January 18, 2013 Turner pleaded guilty to a second-degree criminal sex act and was sentenced to 10 years probation for molesting a 14-year-old boy seven times in July 2011.
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CALL TO ACTION
January 2014
The Following sign is being posted throughout the Rockland County Community
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January 2014
The Following sign is being posted throughout the Rockland County Community
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Monsey sex offender sentenced to 90 days for violating probation
By Steven Lieberman
The Journal News - January 7, 2014
A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Monsey man convicted of molesting a teenage boy to 90 days in the county jail for violating portions of his 10-year probation.
State Supreme Court Justice William Kelly said Moishe Turner deserved incarceration but also must remain under the control of probation officers to ensure he doesn’t endanger children.
“I don’t want to see a situation where he’s off probation,” Kelly said.
Turner can be released from jail within 60 days for good behavior. His lawyer said there would be no appeal.
Prosecutor Jennifer Parietti recommended a state prison term for Turner and a continuation of his 10-year probation. Parietti said Turner proved he will not abide by the court’s sentence and he will do what he wants.
She noted the judge found Turner violated his probation by attending a wedding at the Viznitz Girls School building where children and his 14-year-old male victim were and not reporting a specific car he was driving to his probation officer.
Defense attorney Kenneth Gribetz called the probation violations “technicalities,” countering the school building was being used during the summer as a catering hall — a common practice in the Hasidic Jewish community. Gribetz also noted Turner never came into contact with his victim, who called the police to report Turner.
The victim didn’t testify against Turner at the probation violation hearing after refusing to testify publicly, leading prosecutors to offer Turner probation rather than go to trial. Kelly noted that prosecutors claimed religious community leaders pressured the boy’s family against him testifying.
“I would plead with the court to allow him to remain on probation,” Gribetz said. “He does express his regrets and remorse. He won’t do it again.”
Turner, classified as a level 2 sex offender, was sentenced in March on his Jan. 18, 2013, guilty plea to second-degree criminal sex act, which could have brought him seven years in prison.
He admitted having sex with the 14-year-old boy seven times in July 2011, though he tried to hedge during his sentencing on what he did, drawing the ire of the judge and his defense lawyer. Kelly said at the time that Turner characterized the victim as sexually aggressive, a wild child.
Kelly and Parietti noted they received dozens of letters and emails urging prison time for Turner. Kelly said the letters also accused Turner of being a serial rapist of children, accusations the judge said is not evidence and would not be part of his decision to jail Turner.
“Anybody can say so and so did this and that,” Kelly said. “I can’t give consideration to unsubstantiated allegations.”
Several religious community residents attended the sentencing.
Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg, a Brooklyn advocate for children, called the likely 60-day sentence “a sad day for everybody” after the community wide campaign to have Turner sent to state prison for a longer term rather than the county jail.
“This is one reason why people don’t come forward,” he said of the non-prison sentence.
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