CBS News A rabbi facing child sex-abuse charges in Brooklyn is awaiting extradition back to New York after being arrested in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Menachem Tewel, 30, who also goes by Mendel Tevel, was arrested Tuesday at the JEM Center, a Jewish youth community center on Santa Monica Boulevard, police said.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office put out a warrant for his arrest for several counts of criminal sex acts with minors.
Police said he abused four boys between the ages of 6 and 14. A watchdog group that focuses on child abuse prevention said the alleged attacks happened in Brooklyn sometime between 1995 and 2004.
All of the alleged victims are now adults. Tewel himself would only have been about 12 in 1995.
“Mendel Tevel has been accused by many people of being a molester,” said Ilanit Gluckosky with Jewish Community Watch.
Dana Cole, a lawyer for the community center in California where Tewel was arrested, said the alleged crimes happened only in New York.
“No child, no parent, no one has alleged anything against the JEM Center,” Cole said. ”This involves activities that occurred several years ago in New York City.” [...]
There was a case in Brooklyn where the defendant took a guilty plea to avoid jail. The judge sentenced him to two years because the community was supporting him and nobody expressed concern for the victims. "I know this guy and he's a nice guy" is not a defence.
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