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Rabbi At Prestigious Orthodox Bronx School Charged In 'Heinous' Child Porn Catfishing Scheme
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 17, 2019
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 17, 2019
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A rabbi and associate principal at a prominent Orthodox Jewish middle school in the Bronx was arrested this weekend for allegedly soliciting nude images from male students while posing as a series of teenage girls.
Jonathan Skolnick, 37, was fired from his job at the Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy earlier this week, following his arrest on Friday night at his Bronx home. He was charged with child enticement and production, receipt, and possession of child pornography.
Beginning in Mach of this year, Skolnick embarked on a "heinous plot" to deceive as many as two dozen boys into sending him sexually explicit photos, according to federal prosecutors.
"In each case, the 'girls' would send [the victim] photographs of naked females, claiming that these were photographs of themselves," the complaint states. "The 'girls' would then ask [the victim] to email nude and sexually explicit photographs of himself."
When one 14-year-old boy eventually stopped responding to the messages, the sender threatened to release the young victim's nudes, according to the complaint. "Well you still haven't apolgized [sic] or explained so who will I text next," read one message supposedly sent by "Tina Warner," which was traced back to an IP address associated with Skolnick's home.
On Friday, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Skolnick's home, where they say they recovered a laptop and two cell phones containing child porn. Shortly after, the rabbi admitted to police that he had requested nude images from between 20 and 25 victims.
The school's principal, Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, broke the news to parents in a letter sent on Monday, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“I know that this is an extremely difficult message to read and process on many levels," he said. "It is shocking to know that someone who we have trusted with our children has been accused of harming them. Despite the practices in place to protect our children, we are not immune to breaches such as the one that seems to have taken place at SAR.”
Skolnick is currently in federal custody, ahead of a detention hearing on Wednesday. The top charge, production of child porn, carries a minimum of 15 years in prison.
An attorney for Skolnick could not be reached for comment.
Tagged
child abuse
orthodox
child pornography
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz 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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