SEATTLE (WA)
Failed Messiah
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Rabbi Jordan “Yaakov” E. Murray, a teacher at the Torah Day School in Seattle who was allegedly hired by the school without a background check at the personal recommendation of a prominent haredi rabbi, told a Washington State judge late last month that he is innocent of child sex abuse charges – even though he pleaded guilty to those charges last year, the Jewish Sound reported.
Murray called the haredi day school where he taught 1st and 2nd grade his “a second home,” and insisted on his innocence as his wife sat nearby in a show of support.
“Although I’m not guilty of the crimes I was charged with, I understand how the accusation of sexual abuse happens. Jewish communities are very close-knit…. When allegations of this magnitude occur in such an intimate community it puts a tremendous strain on their social environment. I hope and pray that everything that has transpired in the past year will not affect the persons associated with these allegations,” Murray read aloud from his prepared pre-sentencing statement.
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