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	Popular Nahariya Rabbi Arrested for Alleged Indecent Acts By Jack Khoury The Haaretz [Israel] May 24, 2007 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/862921.html The arrest of a popular Nahariya rabbi for allegedly committing indecent sexual acts was made public Thursday, after a judicial gag order was lifted. Rabbi Shimon Gerlick serves as rabbi of the Nahariya hospital as well as rabbi of the city's Amidar neighborhood. Police arrested him three weeks ago after an 8-year-old girl and 30-year-old woman accused him of indecent sexual acts. Police extended the remand of the rabbi twice before putting him under house arrest last week. A 15-year-old girl came forward and issued a third complaint against the rabbi while he was under arrest, police said. The 8-year-old, who was escorted to the police station by her family, said that when she was five she visited synagogue where the rabbi took her to a secluded area and sexually abused her. The 30-year-old, who is married, said the rabbi sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions. Once when she came to him for counseling at the hospital and another time when she met him at a shop in the city. In her testimony she said that in both incidents Gerlick took her hand and placed it on his crotch. The 15-year-old testified that she met the rabbi near one of the synagogues in town where he committed indecent acts. All of the charges against the rabbi relate to incidents that took place in the past few years. Brigadier General Faraj Faras, Nahariya police chief, said that the decision to arrest Gerlick was only made after each of the complainants' testimonies had been checked and found truthful. Rabbi Gerlick is a well-known and admired figure in Nahariya. Over the years he has carried out the wedding ceremonies of hundreds of couples in the town and the surrounding area. Acquaintances were shocked to hear of the charges. One close friend told Haaretz: "We don?t believe it. This is a rabbi that everyone knows on account of his understanding and wisdom. He is a very warm man, its impossible to believe he's capable of such acts." Contact: jkhouri@haaretz.co.il
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