Asbury Park Press In a tight-knit community of people accustomed to handling problems among themselves, one young boy bucked the trend.
He
accused a Yeshiva teacher and camp counselor of molesting him, and when
a religious council of Orthodox Jews failed to take action against the
man, the boy and his family went to athe Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office
for help.
Because
they skirted religious protocols, the boy and his family were
ostracized by their community. Some in the community even embarked on a
campaign to get the boy and his father to drop the criminal charges.
And,
a flier was circulated in Lakewood saying the boy’s father made a
“mockery” of the Torah and committed a “terrible deed” by going to the
secular authorities.
But
the family stood its ground. Now, six years after the alleged abuse
occurred, the man accused of molesting the boy is set to go on trial in a
case that likely is to be closely watched by Lakewood’s Orthodox Jewish
community.
Jury
selection began Wednesday for the trial of Yosef Kolko, who was working
as a camp counselor at Yachad, a summer camp at the Yeshiva Bais Hatorah
School on Swarthmore Avenue in Lakewood when he met the victim. Kolko
also was a teacher at Yeshiva Orchos Chaim in Lakewood.
Kolko,
39, of Geffen Drive in Lakewood is accused of sexually abusing the boy
between September 2007 and February 2009, when the victim was 11 and 12
years old. Kolko is charged with aggravated sexual assault, attempted
aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and child endangerment.[...]
What is the real mockery of the Torah? What this family did or how the defendant's allies used the Torah as an excuse to avoid justice?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if Belsky is still defending his uncle, Yehuda Kolko.
ReplyDeleteI have heard he has a family connection to the Kolkos. If so, it seems to me there is an issue of negius. Does anyone know the family connections, if any that exist.
BTW, the Asbury Park Press coverage may depend on the level of reader interest. If you are interested in their covering the story, please contact the press and let them know of your interest.
While I dont recommend defending molesters I do recommend that we pursue the truth in all circumstances. Referring to Rabbi belsky as Belsky and vying for press coverage are indicative of one who has an axe to grind and has vision too muddled to seek truth and justice
ReplyDeleteI have written before that I wonder about Yerachmiel's motivations. I think he is driven more by anti-orthodoxy than anything else. I didn't always believe this, but the more I read his stuff, the more this comes to light. He is more Shmarya Rosenberg than he is Paul Mendlovitz.
DeleteDid you notice that VIN NEWS removed this kolko article from thier site. I wonder which thugs threatened fhem.
ReplyDeleteVIN always pulls these types of stories. When I had the Rabbi/ teacher that molested me over 40 years ago in Toronto arrested last August, they ran the story for a few hours with hundreds of comments, then they pulled it. They are as much to blame as the abusers and enablers.
ReplyDeleteJust Google Heshi Nussbaum, you will find references to VIN pulling the story on FM