was there a cover-up?

A Guest Post by Rafi G.

Over the past few days I have done a lot of research and investigating in the situation regarding the alleged abuse case.

I feel comfortable saying that I am pretty familiar with the various aspects and versions of the incident, having heard a number of different perspectives, and having spoken to a number of people very close to and very involved in the situation and the investigation.

While, again, I do not want to get involved in the details of the case - it is not my place to judge anyone, nor have I seen the evidence one way or the other, nor do I wish this to become a blog where I easily accuse people of things and spread rumors, I do want to make something clear.

I am convinced and confident that there was no cover-up by the Rabbonim involved. Whether you agree with some of the decisions made by the Rabbonim, whether you like or dislike how they chose to handle the case, everything they did was to clarify the situation with the express knowledge that if the accused would be found guilty, or even if the suspicions were not definitely guilty but would indicate guilt, the case would be brought to the police and authorities.

The purpose in going the route of holding a private investigation was to establish that there is reasonable suspicion before involving the police which would ruin the teachers life.

The investigation took its course, stretched out a bit, and ended where it ended for now.

I am also aware of the fact that the Rabbonim rejected the suggestion that the teacher would return to the class, because they knew the parents would object. In principal they considered it ok, after consulting with the investigator, because their was not yet enough to go to the police with, but the condition was that there would be no parental objection. Knowing that that would not happen, the Rabbonim said the teacher will not be let back in. That being said, somebody did take it upon himself to ask some of the parents whether they would or would not object. Why he did so I do not know, but it has been made clear to me that the Rabbonim had already rejected the idea.

The situation is very sensitive. the law calls for such things to be reported immediately. The system in the charedi community is to not go to the police right away, but to do an initial investigation first in order to vet the claims. If the claims are found to be true, or at least to bear strong enough suspicion, the authorities are then called in. Anybody can claim anything against anybody. Just because somebody says something, is not necessarily reason to destroy the life of the accused, which is what happens once the police get involved. It should first be investigated to see if the accusation has basis.

I am told that the police unofficially accept this method and approve. It is unofficial because it is illegal, but they approve of the investigator, the investigation, the methods used, and therefore prefer to allow it rather than fight with the charedi community. they allow the investigation to play out and only step in when the investigation is concluded.

The drawback with this system is clearly the violated child and his family. In a case of guilt, they cannot get the professional help they need, because any professional would be obligated by law to report it, until the police get involved.

The truth is that I see no real point in using this method of a private investigator. If the investigator declares guilt and sends the case to the police, everyone is satisfied that there was no cover-up. But any less than a statement of guilt and nobody will accept what he says anyway. They will say he is covering up the story and not accept his decision. So I see no real point in using such an investigator. Perhaps the purpose is to satisfy the determination of guilt and to justify sending it to the police, and not to determine innocence.

I, again, want to say that I have seen no suggestion of a cover-up. Whether you agree or not with the methods employed and the decisions made, they were done in good faith, and meant to clarify the situation, before going to the police (or not).