(JTA) — The former executive director of the Iowa Hillel has been convicted of molesting a 9-year-old boy in the Jewish center building.
David Weltman, 29, gave the boy Hebrew lessons in February and March 2019. The boy told police and later the jury that Weltman took him into a storage room and groped him during at least two sessions. There also was an incident during a trip that the boy’s family took to Israel with Weltman in March. After the trip, the boy told his mother about all of the incidents.
A Johnson County jury on Thursday found Weltman guilty of second-degree sexual abuse, The Gazette reported. He faces 25 years in prison. Weltman was taken into custody until his sentencing, which is scheduled for April 27.
Weltman did not testify during the trial, the Daily Iowan student newspaper reported.
Weltman worked at Hillel as executive director from July 2016 to July 2019. He had been placed on administrative leave after police began investigating the allegations.
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