Convicted sex offender Yona Weinberg is suing me for slander, because I warned Har Nof residents of the danger he poses to their children in 2015. You can read more about it in yesterday's Rockland Journal Newshere: https://www.lohud.com/
It's honestly a bit surreal, as I never imagined the lawsuit would ever go this far without being tossed out by some judge along the way.
But here we are, and the stakes are very high. One way or the other, there will be a precedent set for future cases. If Weinberg wins this lawsuit against me, child-safety advocates, health professionals, teachers. law enforcement officers and even your average next door Israeli neighbor will likely be inhibited and think more than twice before informing others about the presence of a sex offender in the area, for fear of being sued for slander.
I am in Israeli court because securing the rights of our children to be protected from known sex offenders is a battle worth fighting, and we will defend that right to the very end.
I will use this email list keep you posted about tomorrow's developments.
Yakov.
Today we found out
I would like to thank our readers for their outpouring of emails and other forms of communication, digital or otherwise, supporting the rights of all of our children to be protected from child abusers.
Today we found out
I would like to thank our readers for their outpouring of emails and other forms of communication, digital or otherwise, supporting the rights of all of our children to be protected from child abusers.
A significant part of today's proceedings - which set October 25th as the date for the next hearing - centered around this attached letter (see below) we recently obtained from the New York City Police Department which clearly states that Yona Weinberg IS a fugitive from justice in the USA.
This is important because one of Weinberg's main claims to have been slandered was that I tweeted that he fled America to avoid additional charges, which he said was incorrect. To prove this point, Weinberg submitted a letter (early in the proceedings) from one of his attorneys who claimed that a New York City police officer had said that Weinberg is not a fugitive.
And although Weinberg's lawyer keeps saying that Weinberg, "wants to be left alone," and, "has served his time," they cannot dispute the fact that he is a level-3 sex offender. Hence, a main point of Weinberg's slander claim is based on the "fugitive" issue.
Today, the judge listened to arguments from both lawyers regarding the admissibility of the New York City police department letter - since the officer who wrote it won't be available for cross examination in Israel. She will accept input from the two lawyers and give her ruling in 30 days.
Bottom Line - regardless of the long and winding road this lawsuit has followed, we are deeply committed to continue fighting for the safety of our children - namely that their parents be warned when convicted sex offenders move near them without fear of retribution from their predators.
Yakov
