Four Charged in Brooklyn with Intimidating Victim of Alleged Sex Abuse

By Jessica Dye
Chicago Tribune
June 21, 2012

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-newyork-indictmentorthodoxl1e8hlmzv-20120621,0,3619626.story

NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - Four men were charged on Thursday with attempting to intimidate and bribe a teenage girl who is a witness in an upcoming sexual-assault trial, the first case resulting from a new task force to address witness tampering in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community.

According to an indictment, Abraham Rubin, 48, offered the alleged victim and her boyfriend $500,000 to recant testimony against Nechemya Weberman, an unlicensed psychotherapist awaiting trial on charges he repeatedly abused the girl, starting when she was 12 years old.

Another indictment unsealed on Thursday said Joseph, Jacob and Hertzka Berger attempted to pressure the girl and her boyfriend to stop cooperating with law enforcement. The brothers allegedly told the boyfriend, who is also a witness in the case, that his restaurant would lose its kosher certification if he did not cave to their demands.

All four men pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn and were released on bail, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office said.

The Weberman case has deeply divided the New York borough's Orthodox Jewish community. Weberman has denied the sexual abuse charges, brought in 2011.

The cases are the first to result from a new task force set up by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes to address witness intimidation and harassment in child sex-abuse cases in the Orthodox Jewish community. The task force was formed in May in response to media reports that the community regularly hid cases of child sexual abuse from the authorities.

At a news conference announcing the indictments, Hynes defended his office's actions and said secrecy may be necessary to help shield abuse victims from harassment and intimidation efforts like the ones alleged in the indictment.

"Intimidation of victims and witnesses in sex-abuse cases in the Orthodox community is what has made prosecuting these cases so difficult," Hynes said. "Hopefully, these indictments serve as an example that we will not tolerate individuals who try to interfere with the pursuit of justice."

Israel Fried, a lawyer for Jacob Berger, called the allegations "conjecture." A lawyer for Rubin said he intends to vigorously contest the charges.

Lawyers for the other defendants did not immediately return requests for comment.

The cases are People v. Abraham Rubin, in the Supreme Court of the state of New York, Kings County, No. 05219-2012; and People v. Berger et al, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County, No. 05221-2012.