(JTA) — A Brooklyn rabbi was arrested and is facing charges of perjury in a child molestation case involving another rabbi.
Rabbi Samuel Kellner, who was arrested Tuesday night, is accused of paying a witness in the case of Rabbi Baruch Lebovits, who was sentenced to up to 32 years in prison for a child molestation conviction. Kellner supposedly paid to have the witness say that he also was abused by Lebovits, according to several reports.
On Thursday, the appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court ruled that Lebovits should be freed from prison on bail and remain under house arrest pending the outcome of his appeal.
Kellner is accused of trying to extort more than $400,000 from Lebovits after hearing that another youth had made sexual abuse charges against the rabbi.
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