UNITED STATES
Jewish Community Watch
Posted on May 11, 2017
Written By Meyer Seewald
It’s been almost six years since I found myself in tears, sitting on a floor as a victim of childhood sexual abuse described to me in detail how, at 14 years old, Mendel Tevel performed oral sex on him. Tevel was seen by many as a beloved, caring, and charming “mashpia” (spiritual guidance counselor) within the Chabad community of Crown heights Brooklyn and beyond. I remember this conversation as if it happened yesterday. It would be one of many sleepless nights to come which I experienced during my years of confronting childhood sexual abuse within the Orthodox Jewish community.
At the time he told me of the matter, this victim was not ready to press charges. I started doing research on Tevel and found out that he was a staff member at a school and camp in upstate New York. After months of investigation that included hundreds of hours taking phone calls, ten separate people alleged to me that they were victims of Mendel Tevel. The acts theydescribed Tevel forcing them to be a part of where some of the most depraved and terrifying accounts of sexual torture I have ever heard. These included, but are not limited to, whipping them with hangers until they bled, and leaving one victim tied up naked and left on the floor. (Click here to read more stories in the Jewish Journal.)
Shortly after Jewish Community Watch warned the Los Angeles Jewish community of the danger he posed to their children, several people contacted us with stories of how tevel tried groom their children for potential sexual abuse. Instead of taking action, the JEM Community Center, which is owned and operated by the Illulian family – and the family that Tevel married into – continued to support Mendel Tevel and provide him with unfettered access to children at the JEM center.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.