As was reported in the Asbury Park Press-
Yosef Kolko was a popular camp counselor who helped an unpopular young boy fit in during the summer after the fifth grade, in 2007, a jury of nine men and seven women heard this morning.
Kolko recruited the boy and befriended him. The activity was great for the shy boy who was wildly into music but usually kept to himself.
"That elation would soon be replaced by a profound sense of discomfort," Pierro said.
(The article continues to describe details of the alleged abuse.)
Yosef Kolko was a popular camp counselor who helped an unpopular young boy fit in during the summer after the fifth grade, in 2007, a jury of nine men and seven women heard this morning.
Kolko recruited the boy and befriended him. The activity was great for the shy boy who was wildly into music but usually kept to himself.
"That elation would soon be replaced by a profound sense of discomfort," Pierro said.
(The article continues to describe details of the alleged abuse.)
The APP continues
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The father sought to have a rabbinical council handle the accusations, but when Kolko eventually refused to cooperate in the process, the victim and his family in July of 2009 went to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, shunning their religious traditions that such matters be handled by rabbis and not secular authorities.
Because ""one Jew is not to inform on another," Pierro said, the father has since resigned his prestigious teaching position, and the family has moved from Lakewood.
Bachner said the boy's father gave Kolko an ultimatum: Quit his job and go to therapy or the father would go to the secular authorities.
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The way the APP understands our community's attitude to child abuse is that we would allow it to continue because "one Jew is not allowed to inform on another Jew." We of course know that this is not true. If a Jew is harming a child we have a commandment to do whatever is necessary to protect them.
The APP gets the idea that our community is not willing to prosecute molesters. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are a few people in our community that feel it is best to deal with such delicate matters our own way. They have connections through local police, and politicians to attain their goals. They do not consciously do this to protect criminals. They simply think that they can better exact the correct punishment and protect the image of the Jewish Community at the same time.
This case is now proof positive that trying to deal with cases of molestation through any means other than the law of the land, just as we would any other crime where a person is in danger, leads to a loss of justice for the victim, a lack of sane legal advice for the accused, and an entire community wrongly branded as enablers for child abusers.
HH
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The father sought to have a rabbinical council handle the accusations, but when Kolko eventually refused to cooperate in the process, the victim and his family in July of 2009 went to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, shunning their religious traditions that such matters be handled by rabbis and not secular authorities.
Because ""one Jew is not to inform on another," Pierro said, the father has since resigned his prestigious teaching position, and the family has moved from Lakewood.
Bachner said the boy's father gave Kolko an ultimatum: Quit his job and go to therapy or the father would go to the secular authorities.
--------
The way the APP understands our community's attitude to child abuse is that we would allow it to continue because "one Jew is not allowed to inform on another Jew." We of course know that this is not true. If a Jew is harming a child we have a commandment to do whatever is necessary to protect them.
The APP gets the idea that our community is not willing to prosecute molesters. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are a few people in our community that feel it is best to deal with such delicate matters our own way. They have connections through local police, and politicians to attain their goals. They do not consciously do this to protect criminals. They simply think that they can better exact the correct punishment and protect the image of the Jewish Community at the same time.
This case is now proof positive that trying to deal with cases of molestation through any means other than the law of the land, just as we would any other crime where a person is in danger, leads to a loss of justice for the victim, a lack of sane legal advice for the accused, and an entire community wrongly branded as enablers for child abusers.
HH
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