NEW YORK
CBS New York
(CBS/AP) NEW YORK – The mother of a teenage girl who is accusing a member of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect of sexual abuse claims says she paid her daughter’s alleged abuser, Nechemya Weberman, $12,800 for “counseling” services that the girl’s school demanded she receive.
The woman testified Monday that her daughter’s Brooklyn school told her she had to send the then- 12-year-old girl to see Weberman – who was an unlicensed counselor – otherwise she’d be expelled from school, because she had questioned her teachers about their religion and had worn clothing that wasn’t modest enough.
Prosecutors say the girl was molested by Weberman, 54, for years. Defense attorneys say the counselor is the victim of a vindictive child, angry that he had betrayed her trust.
The case has been a crash course for jurors about the customs and rules in Weberman’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, home to about 250,000 followers and the largest such community outside Israel. His trial has rocked their insular, tight-knit group, not only because of the shocking charges but also because the case is being played out in a public court and its guarded society strongly discourages going to outside authorities.
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