AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net
In what is believed to be the only case of a member of a Jewish institution in Australia pleading guilty to child sexual abuse, Rabbi David Kramer will be sentenced next Wednesday. Kramer allegedly abused students at the prestigious Yeshivah College in Melbourne while a teacher there.
Victims’ advocate, Manny Waks, who has been very active in exposing cover-ups in Jewish institutions here, has called for the resignation of Rabbi Glick, the former head of the College, if he knew of Kramer’s offending. Outside court, Mr. Waks said he wanted the case to form part of the upcoming Royal Commission into institutional handling of child abuse allegations. “Hopefully each and every person who was responsible for whatever happened will be held to full account,” he has said.
The Kramer case is a classic example of authorities trying to cover-up for an offender, which resulted in more victims being created. At Kramer’s plea hearing on Wednesday, prosecutor Brett Sonnet said Yeshivah’s administration had initially declined to stand Kramer down because of concerns for his wellbeing. Mr Sonnet said Kramer had admitted some of the accusations, but the college did not act until parents staged a protest outside his house.
The school finally agreed to send him to Israel in 1993. Yeshivah did not report Kramer to police. When NSW police were told by victims of the offending, the police did not investigate or pass information on to other authorities. Even Kramer’s lawyer, Tim Marsh, said that Yeshivah had covered-up Kramer’s offences, saying Kramer had been “quietly shuffled out the back door to Israel.”
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