NEW YORK
Frum Follies
Yesterday I wrote about the surprising and distressing early release of Baruch Lebovits. This morning I emailed the public information office of the Brooklyn District Attorney.
To: PublicInfo@BrooklynDA.org
From: Yerachmiel Lopin
Date: 10/1/14
Subject: Is KCDA satisfied that Baruch Lebovits’ release conforms with the terms of the plea agreement?
The DOC records indicate that on Monday (9/29/14) Baruch Lebovits got out of Rikers on a “NYC general release.” Yet the court plea-bargain transcript show that in return for a definite sentence of two years rather than the 2-6 the DA sought, Lebovits agreed to waive his right to early release.
His release has my readers and many others in the community scratching their heads. He served 1 year and 6 days after his initial conviction in 2010 (4/12/10-4/17/11). His current stint was 83 days (7/9/14/-9/29/14) for a total of ~15 months.
If so, I and many others are left wondering if the DA office is satisfied that his early release was consistent with the sentencing terms and Judge Dwyer’s sentencing memorandum.
QUESTIONS:
Is KCDA satisfied that the sentence served is consistent with your plea bargain?
If so, did you know that this would be the outcome when you struck the deal?
The office of the DA promptly replied:
Good morning,
We have no comment on this.
Thanks,
Helen [Peterson]
There you have it. I surmise that either the DA’s office knew how short the sentence would be and didn’t care or knows that the early release was unjustified and doesn’t care to challenge it. Perhaps they even took private action to reduce the sentence. They seem to have washed their hands of any ongoing responsibility for making Lebovits at least serve one additional year for eight felony counts of oral sex with a minor. What is definitely clear is that the office is not interested in convincing orthodox abuse survivors that they are concerned about the aggressive prosecution of black-hat-on-black-hat crime.The DA is probably violating the civil rights of orthodox abuse victims by not affording them equal protection from abuse.
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