Activists Cheer Arrest of Monrowitz in Israel

Adam Dickter writes:

The fugitive chasidic man accused of abusing four boys whose parents brought them to him for psychotherapy was arrested in Israel today and now awaits extradition to the U.S., a step his accusers have been seeking for more than 20 years, Haaretz reported.

Rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz, who worked in Borough Park, is a member of the Gur sect who fled to Israel in 1985 after being indicted on eight counts of child abuse and four counts of sodomy. The alleged victims ranged in age from 9 to 15.

One of the accusers claims he came to Mondrowitz to be treated after being abused by a teacher, only to then be abused again by Mondrowitz, whose credentials as both a rabbi and psychologist have been disputed by critics who have delved into his background.

The case has been a political thorn in the side of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes for years as sex-abuse watchdogs accused him of reluctance to apprehend and prosecute Mondrowitz for fear of offending Orthodox voters. The case has also been notorious because of allegations that teachers and rabbis in Mondrowitz’s community looked the other way when confronted with accusations against him.