Yeshivah investigation ramps up
AN investigation into child sexual abuse claims levelled at a Yeshivah employee have ramped up this week, with at least three people now understood to be assisting police with their inquiries.
AN investigation into child sexual abuse claims levelled at a Yeshivah employee have ramped up this week, with at least three people now understood to be assisting police with their inquiries.
Last week The AJN reported that a statement had been made to police alleging a string of abuses against a former student of the school and it can be revealed this week that two more people are assisting police with their inquiries. It is understood that the employee at the centre of the latest scandal is yet to be interviewed by police.
The alleged abuses happened some time ago, though The AJN has opted not to publish the dates as to conceal the identities of the victim and the alleged perpetrator, who remains in close contact with children at the school today.
College principal Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler told The AJN he had contacted the police and been advised that “at present, we have no need for concern, and that [police] would be in immediate contact with us should the need arise.”
In a statement to The AJN a spokesperson from the Police Media Unit said they were “not in a position to confirm or deny” that an investigation was underway.
The school last week launched an impassioned defence, with Smukler vowing to stand down any person under investigation for child sex crimes.
“Our school policy is clear and unequivocal; we would unhesitatingly stand them down and remove them from having any access or exposure to our children during the investigation.”
Last week The AJN spoke with a man who claimed to have been raped several times, including in the school’s shul on the bimah and in the pews. The man, who was eight or nine when the alleged offences occurred, said he had made an official statement to police.
“After I was raped I was in shock and I went to the office and I was shivering and crying. I didn’t know what rape was because I was eight years old. I din’t know what sex was, so I didn’t have the words to say what happened,” the man said.
Earlier this year David Kramer and David Cyprys, both Yeshivah College employees pleaded guilty to child sex offences committed against students at the school, while another man, who was a former substitute teacher at the school, has been charged with child sex offences.
ADAM KAMIEN
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