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Ex-Dover, Del, pastor arrested on child sex charges
Amy Cherry, WDEL
Feb 18, 2021 - 11:27 am
A former pastor in the Dover-area is facing child sex charges.
Benson was the pastor at Trinity Wesleyan Church in Kent Acres until October of 2020, according to the church's administration.
Delaware State Police told WDEL their investigation determined the victims of these alleged crimes were not affiliated with the church.
"We are saddened and disappointed to learn of the circumstances of Mr. Benson’s arrest," church administrators said in an email. "We are fully committed to cooperating with the authorities in their investigation in any way that we can."
Benson posted $21,000 unsecured bond and was released.
Convicted sex-offender Moti Elon relinquishes his rabbi title
"Elon was convicted of child sexual abuse, yet the Rabbinate steadfastly refused
to remove his Rabbinic authority."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
MARCH 4, 2021 19:50
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Convicted sex-offender and former prominent Jerusalem educator Moti Elon relinquished his teudat rabbanut (rabbinate certificate) on Thursday, officially barring himself from any formal Jewish leadership role.
Though he was convicted of indecent assault in 2013, Elon continued to serve the public, going as far as opening a new yeshiva in Jerusalem in 2017.
The High Court of Justice recommended Elon return his certificate after hearing a petition against the Israeli Rabbinate by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, an umbrella organization focused on combating sexual violence; the Jewish Community Watch (JCW), a global organization that focuses on combating sexual abuse specifically in the Jewish Orthodox community; and Voice Against Child Sexual Abuse (VoiCSA), an international child protection organization.
“Elon was convicted of child sexual abuse, yet the Rabbinate steadfastly refused to remove his Rabbinic authority,” VoiCSA stated.
“He has never accepted guilt,” they pointed out, even though credible allegations of sexual assault of underage boys were brought against him. “Shame on the Israeli Rabbinate, which has demonstrated, once again, their immorality and dereliction of duty.”
The Chief Rabbinate sent a letter to Elon in 2019, informing him that his public service privileges were being reviewed, in what was seen as a first step towards disbarring him from the rabbinate.
The Chief Rabbinate had still not revoked Elon’s accreditation as a rabbi by June, content with his promise to not seek a public position in the rabbinate.
Elon was first convicted by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court in 2013 on two counts of indecent assault by force against a minor. New allegations were directed at him in 2018, this time sexual molestation also against a minor.
What is with the Rabbinate? Why do they protect Rabbis who sexually abuse children? Do they think they have a right to sexually abuse children? How shameful and disgraceful!
Neighborhood Watch Group Leader Nailed With
Child Rape Charges
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The Watch Group (shomrim) was made up of Hasidic Jews
By Ben Verde,
Brooklyn Paper
Jacob Daskal (middle) faces federal charges for coercing a minor into sex. NYPD 66th Precinct
Federal prosecutors charged the founder of the Borough Park shomrim with a three-count indictment for allegedly sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Jacob Daskal, 62, had been charged in New York State court in 2018 for raping the teen victim, and was out on a $75,000 bond, but now the feds have stepped in — hitting him with charges of coercing a minor to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
“Daskal, who was almost 60 years old when these crimes were committed, exploited the vulnerability of a young teenager by grooming her for sex and enticing her into having sexual relationships with him,” acting US District Attorney Seth DuCharme said in a statement.
Daskal plead not guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday.
Federal prosecutors say that Daskal — who founded the private safety group that patrols Borough Park in conjunction with the 66th Police Precinct — fostered a sexual relationship with the underage girl, who he abused in his home in Brooklyn in 2017.
Daskal also allegedly took the girl to his summer home in upstate New York — crossing state borders into New Jersey along the way, according to court documents.
The cross-border crimes continued when the victim moved to Chicago, and Daskal allegedly communicated with the victim over Skype and text, asking her to pose nude during video chats and send nude photos, according to the federal complaint.
On Nov. 5, 2017, Daskal traveled to Chicago to visit the victim, where he brought her to a hotel room for sex, prosecutors allege.
“A man who founded an organization aimed at creating a safer community should know the difference between right and wrong,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr.
As a leader of the Shomrim, Daskal assumed a position of respect and influence within the Borough Park Orthodox Jewish community, which prosecutors say he used to silence his victim.
“Mr. Daskal’s position of influence may have helped him attempt to silence his victim, but it won’t stop the FBI from holding him accountable,” Sweeney said.
Daskal’s 2018 state charge continues to play out in Kings County court, but he now faces a minimum of 10 years in US prison, and a maximum of life behind bars, from the federal charges.
Deceased Pittsburgh Episcopal priest accused of child sex abuse
Lacretia Wimbley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
MAR 12, 2021 10:40 AM
In a note sent to members of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and an affiliated summer camp on Friday, Bishop Dorsey McConnell informed members of a child sex abuse complaint against a late priest and encouraged those with information to speak up.
Bishop McConnell said his office received a complaint against the late Charles Appel, who served as a priest in the Diocese of Pittsburgh before renouncing his orders in 2001. The unidentified man who made the complaint claims the alleged abuse occurred when he was a minor in the late 1970s and early 1980s and while he was at Sheldon Calvary Camp in Conneaut, Ohio.
The camp is affiliated with the Pittsburgh Diocese.
“Acknowledging this part of our diocese’s history is painful,” Bishop McConnell said in a letter to members. “However, as Christians, we must be committed to the safety and well-being of everyone, and to transparency about any misconduct or abuse.
“To that end, I want to invite and encourage anyone in our congregations or in the community who may have information about this allegation, or who wishes to speak about any related situations involving Mr. Appel, to contact our diocesan intake officers.”
Appel renounced his priesthood after charges were brought against him under the Church’s clergy disciplinary system, according to Bishop McConnell. The diocese would not provide details of that case.
Prior to that, Appel was involved at Calvary Camp from approximately 1971 until 1982 and was also vicar of the former Church of the Good Samaritan in Liberty. In 2014, Appel was sentenced to five years in federal prison for receiving pornographic videos of children. He died in 2019.
Anyone with information into the alleged abuse can contact Rev. Catherine Munz or Rev. Canon James Shoucair, via email at intake@episcopalpgh.org or by phone at 412-721-0853 ext. 257. All conversations will be kept confidential.
Bishop McConnell said he plans to provide an update on the case over the summer.
Sex abuse allegations pile up against Israeli rescue chief
The scandal has all but destroyed the reputation of a man who just weeks ago received the Israel Prize, the country’s highest civilian honor, for his lifetime achievements. It also has shined a light on the scourge of sexual abuse in the insular world of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community.
By Ilan Ben Zion | Associated Press
Mar 16, 2021, 11:23am CDT
In this Oct. 13, 2015 file photo, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, then head of Israel’s ZAKA rescue service, center, stands at the scene of a shooting attack by a Palestinian gunman, in Jerusalem. On Sunday, March 14, 2021, the Israeli police announced that the force’s major crimes unit, Lahav 433, had opened an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against Meshi-Zahav. AP
JERUSALEM — For decades, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav was one of Israel’s most recognizable faces, widely respected for founding an ultra-Orthodox rescue service that cared for victims of Palestinian attacks and bridged the divide between religious and secular Israelis.
But in recent days, Meshi-Zahav has faced a growing list of accusers who say he committed horrendous acts of sexual abuse of men, women and children over several decades.
The scandal has all but destroyed the reputation of a man who just weeks ago received the Israel Prize, the country’s highest civilian honor, for his lifetime achievements. It also has shined a light on the scourge of sexual abuse in the insular world of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community.
“When it comes to the ultra-Orthodox in particular, there is a very strong code of silence,” said Manny Waks, an advocate for victims of sex abuse in Jewish communities and himself a survivor of abuse in his native Australia.
“There is a closed community mentality, us vs. them. Putting all those things together is a recipe for disaster, in the context of child sexual abuse in particular,” he said.
While Meshi-Zahav has denied the allegations, his accusers have delivered similar accounts. They say Meshi-Zahav exploited his public prominence to molest and sexually exploit women, boys and girls alike, and that the ultra-Orthodox community shielded him with a wall of silence.
A victim identified by the letter “N” told the Yedioth Ahronot daily on Sunday that he first met Meshi-Zahav in 1996 when he was 16 and Meshi-Zahav was 20 years his senior.
“All the people close to him during those years knew that I was his escort boy. I turned into a prostitute in the full meaning of the word,” he said.
Meshi-Zahav was once a member of a radical ultra-Orthodox sect that opposed Israel’s existence, believing a Jewish state could only be established after the arrival of the Messiah. His views changed after a devastating 1989 bus attack near Jerusalem killed 16 people.
Meshi-Zahav joined volunteers who helped collect the remains of the victims, in line with the Jewish custom of honoring the dead. He has said the experience taught him that everyone’s pain was equal.
Those efforts led to the formation in 1995 of ZAKA, whose volunteers helped identify the victims of disasters and suicide bombings and collected their remains for a Jewish burial. Over time, the group expanded to include first response paramedics and gained widespread respect in Israel.
Meshi-Zahav has received numerous honors and became a symbol of moderation in the often strained relations between Israel’s secular and ultra-Orthodox Jews.
He was invited to light a ceremonial torch at Israel’s Independence Day celebrations and recently implored fellow members of the ultra-Orthodox community to respect coronavirus safety precautions after both of his parents died of COVID-19. At the time, he said the rabbis who encouraged followers to ignore the safety rules had “blood on their hands.”
Early this month, Meshi-Zahav, 61, was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement. He broke down in tears as Education Minister Yoav Gallant delivered the news, saying the award belonged to ZAKA’s thousands of volunteers.
That recognition appears to have been the trigger that has led his accusers to come forward after years of silence. It began last Thursday, when the Haaretz daily published accounts from six alleged victims accusing Meshi-Zahav of rape, sexual molestation and harassment.
In response, Meshi-Zahav wrote a letter saying “these libels are baseless and appear more as gossip and closing of accounts against me.” He said he was taking a break as director of ZAKA and relinquished the Israel Prize, but denied any wrongdoing.
Since then, the trickle of testimonies has turned into a torrent.
On Sunday, Israeli police announced its major crimes unit, Lahav 433, had opened a formal investigation. On Monday, Hebrew media reported the police had investigated similar allegations against him in 2013, but had closed the probe for lack of evidence.
ZAKA, meanwhile, issued a statement expressing “shock and astonishment,” saying the allegations against Meshi-Zahav “arouse deep abhorrence, shock and disgust, light years away from the values that characterize the organization.”
Statistics on sexual abuse in the ultra-Orthodox world are difficult to come by.
Waks, who leads the advocacy group VoiCSA, said the general estimate in Israeli society is that one in six boys and one in four girls has experienced sexual abuse. He said there is nothing to suggest the numbers are different in the ultra-Orthodox world.
“Many of us would argue that there are increased vulnerabilities which would translate to increased numbers of abuse,” he said. These include the lack of sex education, the inability to keep close tabs on children because of large families and the general level of trust among adults in the tight-knit communities.
He called the allegations against Meshi-Zahav “shocking but not surprising,” and said he hoped they would encourage other alleged victims to come forward. He also urged Israel to abolish the statute of limitations in such cases.
The current statute of limitations for sex abuse in the family or with a close community member, such as a teacher or doctor, is set at 20 years from the time the victim turns 18. For other instances, the statute of limitations for molestation is three to five years, and 10 years in cases of rape.
In a landmark case that shined a light on abuses in the ultra-Orthodox world, Israel in January extradited Malka Leifer, an ultra-Orthodox former teacher wanted on 74 counts of child sex abuse, to Australia after a protracted legal battle.
Shana Aaronson, executive director of Magen for Jewish Communities, an Israeli advocacy group for survivors of sexual abuse, said at least six people have approached the organization about Meshi-Zahav. She said the first inklings of accusations surfaced about six years ago.
“The person was unwilling to discuss it anymore, go to the police or anything of that nature,” she said.
She said the spectrum of complaints that have surfaced against Meshi-Zahav “paints a picture of a certain personality of someone who was unbelievably confident in the fact that he was just going to get away with this.”
Israel’s Education Ministry, which bestows the Israel Prize, has yet to comment on Meshi-Zahav. But Miriam Peretz, a member of the prize committee and Israel Prize laureate, has spoken out.
“All of us members of the committee categorically condemn this entire horrible thing,” she told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
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