NEW YORK (JTA) — Four spectators at the trial of a haredi Orthodox man accused of sexual abuse were arrested for taking photos of the accuser during her testimony.
Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, told The New York Times that court officers in the courtroom of New York State Supreme Court Judge John Ingram saw a man taking pictures of the 17-year-old accuser on his cellphone during Thursday’s proceedings.
According to Schmetterer, Ingram ordered the cellphones of all present confiscated, whereupon it was determined that one of the photographs had already been posted to the social networking site Twitter.
Prosecutors identified the men as Joseph Fried, Yona Weisman, Abraham Zupnick and Lemon Juice, all of the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. (The latter name was reported by numerous media outlets without additional explanation, save that he works for a bakery.)
Nechemya Weberman is facing 88 counts of sexual misconduct for alleged sexual encounters between him and the female accuser, whose parents sent her for therapy sessions to the unlicensed therapist at the recommendation of the child’s school. The incidents allegedly took place while the accuser was between 12 and 15 years old.
In June, four men from the Satmar Chasidic community were arrested for allegedly offering the accuser $500,000 in an attempt to silence her.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
