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Baruch Lebovits, 60, received a sentence of 10 2/3 to 32 years in prison last year for sexually abusing minors.
Prosecutors stood by a Brooklyn rabbi's child-molestation conviction Wednesday, even as they charged a Hasidic man with shaking down his family and bribing someone to make false accusations.
Baruch Lebovits, 60, received a sentence of 10 2/3 to 32 years in prison a year ago, based on the testimony of a 22-year-old man who said the rabbi sexually abused when he was 16.
The trial and stiff penalty sent shockwaves through Borough Park's tight-knit Jewish community.
But Samuel Kellner, 49, who brought the victim to prosecutors' attention, was charged with paying another man $10,000 to accuse Lebovits of abuse.
Baruch Lebovits, 60, received a sentence of 10 2/3 to 32 years in prison last year for sexually abusing minors.
Prosecutors stood by a Brooklyn rabbi's child-molestation conviction Wednesday, even as they charged a Hasidic man with shaking down his family and bribing someone to make false accusations.
Baruch Lebovits, 60, received a sentence of 10 2/3 to 32 years in prison a year ago, based on the testimony of a 22-year-old man who said the rabbi sexually abused when he was 16.
The trial and stiff penalty sent shockwaves through Borough Park's tight-knit Jewish community.
But Samuel Kellner, 49, who brought the victim to prosecutors' attention, was charged with paying another man $10,000 to accuse Lebovits of abuse.
There is no way the appeals court will let this conviction stand, considering it was based on what even prosecutors now concede was false testimony against the defendant.
ReplyDeleteBalberdash, Frank. The DA is clear that he is convicned that the plot by Kelnner and the actual fabrications involved witnesses apart from the one whose testimony convicted Lebovits.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that serial molesters can both be guilty and be threatened with extortion.
Balberdash, Frank. The DA is clear that he is convicned that the plot by Kelnner and the actual fabrications involved witnesses apart from the one whose testimony convicted Lebovits.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that serial molesters can both be guilty and be threatened with extortion.
This raises very serious questions if the entire conviction was based on lies and fabrications.
ReplyDelete