NEW YORK
New York Daily News
MICHAEL O’KEEFFE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Chaim Levin says he was sexually abused by his cousin for years, abandoned by his family and shunned by his community. He has wrestled with his identity and sexuality. His childhood was violently ripped from him, leading to years of depression and self-doubt.
Levin, who grew up in an ultraconservative Orthodox Jewish community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and founded LGBTQ Chabad, a 103-member support group, says none of that will stop him from seeking justice.
“My message to my abuser is this: I will never stop until you take responsibility for what you did to me,” Levin told the Daily News. “I’m not going away. I’m getting stronger and stronger.”
Levin, 27, has emerged as one of the leaders of the survivors fighting to reform New York’s statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, which bars victims from pursuing civil litigation or criminal charges after their 23rd birthday. He says sexual abuse is common in the Orthodox community.
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