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The Lakewood Times

Was Yosef Kolko Coerced Into Pleading Guilty?

6/12/2013

10 Comments

 
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An interesting revelation from a Huffington Post article regarding the admission of guilt in the Kolko trial sheds some much needed light on how things often end up being (mis)handled in our community, and ruining people's lives.
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The plea came after only three of the prosecution's eight witnesses testified. The senior rabbi the father approached was due to testify, as were other members of the insular community who were expected to shed light on internal workings of Lakewood's Orthodox population and how such allegations were handled inside it.

When Judge Francis R. Hodgson asked Kolko if he had received any promises or was threatened or coerced in exchange for his plea, Kolko answered softly that there were things that were "not part of the court system."
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What exactly did Kolko mean by "not part of the court system"? Does that mean that there was another system that was pressuring him into pleading guilty? Many people believe that the two new victims had come forward to certain people well in advance of the trial. They were told to contact the prosecutor's office only when it became clear that further testimony was going to reveal the threats and harassment that was done to the victim's family, and who was involved.

In the end the Kolko case was not about a victim and whether the perpetrator was innocent or guilty. It was about 'the insolence' of a father seeking to protect children and seek justice for his son by making a decision above the desires of those that want to retain complete control over our community. There were those that knew Kolko was guilty and kept quiet until their actions were going to be revealed to the world. At that point the well being of Kolko was no longer an issue. He was not simply "thrown under the bus". He was thrown into a jail cell for a very long time in order to protect the image of those that used him to retain their power.

What should have ended with Yosef Kolko receiving a relatively light punishment with his admission of guilt before the trial, what could have been solved by making sure Kolko had no further contact with children, gets therapy and medication, and goes on with his life, ended with him in solitary confinement in a high security prison possibly in order to protect those that victimized an entire family.
10 Comments
Me Ani
6/12/2013 01:41:30 pm

I heard that he insisted on going to trial because he thought he could win. When his lawyer saw their BS wasn't working, he told him to cop a plea. I think his lawyer should have told him that as soon as they saw the witness list, and before the trial started. He would have had no jail time, and would only have required mandated therapy. Maybe Kolko can still appeal because he had bad legal advice. Why not try? Otherwise he sits his life away.

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Chaim Yankel
6/12/2013 11:28:53 pm

As I said bizyoines all around!

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Devora
6/12/2013 02:19:15 pm

Don't really get it?

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you
6/12/2013 10:24:03 pm

are the ultimate talebearer. make stuff up. imply the secret cabal of lakewood rabbis are behind the schemes. try to stir up the feeble minded. I used to think you had some good. now i know otherwise.
(good luck in the senate)

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Outlook
6/13/2013 01:15:28 am

SO Basically BMG and Establishment Threw Kolko under the bus to Protect Their Image. What Wouldent BMG and Establishment for Kovod Hatorah?

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Yerachmiel Lopin link
6/13/2013 02:25:09 am

I do not believe that the witnesses were put forward by the Lakewood hanhalah. I know for sure that one of the witnesses come forward through a totally different path and this witness would not have acted to oblige the Lakewood BMG leadership. While the timing may seem surprising, it corresponds well to a pattern experienced by many of us who do abuse victim advocacy. During trials victims of the defendant start coming out of the woodwork. I will hear from more new victims of an abuser during a trial than I may have heard in the previous 1-3 years since the publicity about the arrest. These trials are very triggering for victims; issues that have lain dormant for years or decades suddenly get activated and motivate them to reach out to others.


i am assuming the prosecutor carefully vetted the witnesses before presenting and would have been obliged to share any exculpatory evidence with the defense or risk having any conviction thrown out on grounds of violations of Brady or Rossario rules. Prosecutors are also very cautious about last minute witnesses because an additional witness can cause more harm than good if they are discredited on the stand.

I do not accept the idea that Kolko can blame his lawyer. Virtually every defense lawyer protects himself from horrible damage to their reputation by making sure the accused gets written communication about the likely risks of a trial and the arguments for accepting a plea bargain beforehand. In this case, the defense lawyer knew the prosecution had a strong case even before the additional witnesses came forward and I am pretty certain he discussed it with Kolko.

It was Kolko alone who chose (foolishly) to exercise his constitutional right to go to a trial. He may also have been egged on by Mickey Rottenberg and R. Belsky.

Many molesters are so used to successfully manipulating their victims that they cannot believe their victims have changed and are no longer under their control. I suspect that once Kolko saw his victim being so competent on the witness stand he finally realized the jig was up and it would only get worse as the trial proceeded.

I too am mystified by Kolko's comments about being pressured by folks outside the judicial system. It may have been his family. It may even have been r. Belsky who found it easier to insist on Kolko's innocence with one witness than 3. If it was the Lakewood hanhalah that urged him to plead guilty it was not because they cared one way or the other about his guilt or his punishment. It was because the testimony of the rabbonim about confessions and beit din would have exposed the community to the truth that there are deep divisions within Lakewood about how to handle these cases and the BMG CEO and leadership were the true forces behind the cover-up and the expulsion of the victim's family from Lakewood.

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Don't believe
6/13/2013 03:10:11 am

Sorry HH but I don't believe anything you say anymore. You are the same as the people you go against. You claim they are in it for themselves and everything you report or claim is also for yourself, just to knock them. You lost any and all credibility in my eyes, especially after that article you posted on the Howell patch.

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Yerachmiel Lopin link
6/17/2013 02:55:37 am

I think attention should be paid to the letter of apology by Dovid Epstein of Lakewood to the family of Kolko's victim. Dovid Epstein, in his 60s, is an important person in the lay community of Lakewood with roots that run back in time and acroos the lay community. He was an active part of the effort that drove the victim's family out of town. Now he feels betrayed by those who egged him on and is anguished and said as much in a very emotional letter to the victim's family which he allowed to be publicized.

Make no mistake, this letter is the voice of others in the lay community and the culprits are understood very well to be the hanhalah (establishment leadership centered in BMG). Check out the letter in the daas torah blog http://www.daattorah.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-rabbi-that-publicly-embarrassed.html

and this comment on the blog, emes ve-emunah: http://www.haemtza.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-heartfelt-apology.html

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Yerachmiel Lopin link
6/17/2013 02:55:45 am

I think attention should be paid to the letter of apology by Dovid Epstein of Lakewood to the family of Kolko's victim. Dovid Epstein, in his 60s, is an important person in the lay community of Lakewood with roots that run back in time and acroos the lay community. He was an active part of the effort that drove the victim's family out of town. Now he feels betrayed by those who egged him on and is anguished and said as much in a very emotional letter to the victim's family which he allowed to be publicized.

Make no mistake, this letter is the voice of others in the lay community and the culprits are understood very well to be the hanhalah (establishment leadership centered in BMG). Check out the letter in the daas torah blog http://www.daattorah.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-rabbi-that-publicly-embarrassed.html

and this comment on the blog, emes ve-emunah: http://www.haemtza.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-heartfelt-apology.html

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Yerachmiel Lopin link
6/17/2013 02:56:14 am

I think attention should be paid to the letter of apology by Dovid Epstein of Lakewood to the family of Kolko's victim. Dovid Epstein, in his 60s, is an important person in the lay community of Lakewood with roots that run back in time and acroos the lay community. He was an active part of the effort that drove the victim's family out of town. Now he feels betrayed by those who egged him on and is anguished and said as much in a very emotional letter to the victim's family which he allowed to be publicized.

Make no mistake, this letter is the voice of others in the lay community and the culprits are understood very well to be the hanhalah (establishment leadership centered in BMG). Check out the letter in the daas torah blog http://www.daattorah.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-rabbi-that-publicly-embarrassed.html

and this comment on the blog, emes ve-emunah: http://www.haemtza.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-heartfelt-apology.html

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