Hasidic leader guilty of sexually abusing girl

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish counselor in a New York Hasidic community was found guilty Monday of repeatedly sexually abusing a girl over three years while she was in his care.

Nechemya Weberman faces up to 117 years in prison after being convicted on 59 counts. The most serious charge, "course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree" carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.

Weberman, a heavy-set 54-year-old with a traditional Hasidic beard and dark clothing, was led into custody after the verdict was read. He will be sentenced on January 9.

In a trial that has upended the insular community of Brooklyn followers of the Satmar branch of Hasidic Jews, the girl accuses Weberman of first abusing her in 2007, when she was 12.

The defense claimed that the girl made up the accusations to take revenge against Weberman for informing her parents that she'd revealed to him she was romantically involved with a boy -- something banned in their community.

Rachel Krausz told the court this month she could never have known what would happen when she sent her daughter to Weberman for counseling sessions, given his standing and the community's strict separation of the sexes.

The counseling sessions were ordered by the school, which had said she had behavioral problems. The principal called the girl a heretic for having an open top button on her shirt.

According to the allegations, Weberman used these counseling sessions to sexually molest the youngster, who for a long time was too scared to tell anyone.

In the public seating of the courtroom during the trial, every spot was filled with bearded men in traditional clothes or Hasidic women, several of them wearing wigs.

"The victim showed great courage to come forward in a very difficult time," said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

"Hopefully, this verdict will lead to the understanding for other women that they can come forward as well." (AFP)

<관련 한글 기사>

10대女 수차례 성폭행한 정신나간 상담사!

미국 뉴욕의 한 종교집단의 상담사가 상담을 받으러 온 어린이들을 수년간 수십번에 걸쳐 성적으로 학대한 것으로 나타나 충격을 주고 있다.

AFP통신에 따르면 이 상담사는 초정통파 (ultra-Orthodox) 유대교의 하시디즘 커뮤니티에 속하는 자로서 상담을 받으러 온 십대소녀를 2007년부터 3년간 농락했다고 한다.

용의자 네쳄야 웨버먼 (54)은 “미성년자를 상대로 성적인 행위를 한” 혐의를 포함해 59건의 혐의를 받고 있는데, 만약 혐의가 모두 사실인 것으로 드러날 경우 최고 징역 117년형까지 받을 수 있다. 웨버먼에 대한 판결은 내년 1월 9일에 내려진 예정이다.

피고인 측은 현재 피해소녀가 웨버먼이 자신의 이성교제 사실을 자신의 부모에게 알린 것에 대해 복수하기 위해서 이와 같은 혐의를 지어냈다고 주장하고 있는 것으로 알려졌다.

소녀가 웨버먼에게 상담을 받은 것은 학교 조치에 따른 것이었는데, 학교장은 소녀가 셔츠의 단추를 끝까지 잠그지 않았다는 이유로 그녀를 ‘이단지’라고 불렀다고 한다.

피해소녀는 웨버먼이 상담 시간을 자신을 성적으로 추행하는데 썼다며, 그동안 너무 두려워서 이와 같은 사실을 알리지 못했다고 밝혔다.

초정통파 유대교는 교리의 현대적 해석을 거부하는 근본주의 종교로서, 과거에도 이들의 극우성향과 남녀차별적인 관습이 사회적으로 문제를 일으킨 바 있다.