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Orthodox Sex Abuse Victim Claims Hasidic Counselor Made Her Reenact Porn
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 1, 2012
Modified Dec 1, 2012
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via CBS
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 1, 2012
Modified Dec 1, 2012
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The trial of Nechemya Weberman—a Hasidic counselor who has been accused of sexually abusing a teen girl in Brooklyn for years—continued with more testimony from the alleged victim yesterday, a day after four people were taken into custody for photographing the victim in court. The now 17-year-old victim told jurors Weberman showed her pornography and then made her reenact the sex acts during their frequent counseling sessions. I had to “copy what was in the porn,” the woman testified. “I remember it happening a lot.”
She said those counseling sessions happened four times a week during a three year period starting when she was 12-years-old. During her fourth day of testifying, the teen also explained her fears about coming forward, and why she hid the abuse for so long: “Satmar would have kicked me out, and if Satmar kicks you out, nobody accepts you,” she said. “I thought they would never believe me, since he was supposedly a god in Williamsburg." That's a point that Weberman's cousin brought up in his long essay about him, noting that the Webermans started that Satmar sect in Williamsburg.
As for how she was able to overcome her fears, the now married woman said, “I felt like I had a responsibility. I didn’t want anybody else to go through what I went through.” Security has been increased for her since four men were arrested for taking photos of her (and putting them on the internet) in court this week; she also has received bribes and other forms of intimidation from supporters of Weberman. "We've had several breaches of the laws of the state of New York. Our courts are open to the public but the court cannot tolerate any further violations," Judge John Ingram said before trial yesterday. "This is not some kind of sporting event, it's not a theater production, and I expect everyone to act accordingly."
One of those men arrested for taking photos, Joseph Fried, was secretly recorded arguing with the teen's now-husband a few months ago, during an argument about the upcoming trial: “Even if it’s true, he shouldn’t go to jail,” Fried is heard saying of Weberman, according to the recording obtained by the Daily News and translated from Yiddish. “A Jew doesn’t belong in jail.”
The trial continues on Monday. Among other things, the girl’s parents expected to testify for the prosecution, and Weberman may testify in his defense later in the week.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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