A religious counselor in Brooklyn's ultra-orthodox Jewish community was sentenced Tuesday to 103 years in prison following his conviction in the abuse case of a girl who came to him with questions about her faith.
Nechemya Weberman was convicted in December of sustained abuse of a child and other charges. His trial put a spotlight on the insular Satmar Hasidic sect in Brooklyn and its strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world.
Nechemya Weberman was convicted in December of sustained abuse of a child and other charges. His trial put a spotlight on the insular Satmar Hasidic sect in Brooklyn and its strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world.
Of all the high profile abuse cases, the Weberman case is a common case of he said/she said. Many people on both sides of the case were shocked at the harsh sentence. There were unconfirmed reports of other "clients" that suffered abuse yet were afraid to come forward.
One important lesson that should be learned from this case to prevent further tragedies such as this is apparent.
Weberman was not a licensed counselor but spent decades working with couples and families in his community. The school that the girl attended would send any girl that was having problems, to Weberman for counseling. The families were held hostage to go only to him and were forced to pay his outrageous fees. There was no oversight to his therapy. His offices were secluded, he had access to his patients in complete privacy.
It is a shame to see a girls' life completely destroyed , or to see a man possibly incarcerated unjustly if his side of the story is true. But without the greedy school that sent this girl to an individual that had no formal training there would have been no Weberman case.
One important lesson that should be learned from this case to prevent further tragedies such as this is apparent.
Weberman was not a licensed counselor but spent decades working with couples and families in his community. The school that the girl attended would send any girl that was having problems, to Weberman for counseling. The families were held hostage to go only to him and were forced to pay his outrageous fees. There was no oversight to his therapy. His offices were secluded, he had access to his patients in complete privacy.
It is a shame to see a girls' life completely destroyed , or to see a man possibly incarcerated unjustly if his side of the story is true. But without the greedy school that sent this girl to an individual that had no formal training there would have been no Weberman case.
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