US Marshals Service on Rabbi Alan Horowitz

Don't forget about the CALL FOR ACTION on this case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT:
May 25, 2007	Deputy U.S. Marshal Gary Mattison (518) 365-9690; U.S. State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security Kendal Smith (571) 345-3146; U.S. Marshals Office of Public Affairs (202) 307-9065
Child Molester/Fugitive Rabbi Alan Horowitz Is Second Major International Arrest for U.S. Marshals This Month
New York/Washington - When convicted child molester Rabbi Alan Horowitz was arrested on May 22, at a seaside resort in southern India, it concluded the most far-flung and exotic fugitive investigation ever conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Like former lawman Kenneth Freeman - who had fled to China to avoid charges of raping his young daughter and posting the scenes on the internet - Horowitz now sits in a foreign jail cell awaiting return to the U.S. to face justice. Both men were tracked down by investigators at the U.S. Marshals Service and the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Horowitz, an ordained Orthodox Rabbi and ivy league-educated child psychologist, was convicted of 34 counts of child molestation in Schenectady County, New York. He may have imported illegal materials into the prison where he was serving time – extending his sentence, and previously he had been convicted of “perverted sexual practices” in Maryland. During the 1980s, while living in Israel, police launched an investigation into charges that Horowitz was sexually abusing some of his second wife’s children. He fled back to the United States. Even earlier in his life, he faced a similar investigation while living in North Carolina. Most recently, he fled New York state parole in 2006, but continued to use internet communications while hiding in India. “To locate him we used a network of tipsters and some of the most extensive electronic surveillance techniques we’ve ever employed,” said Deputy U.S. Marshal Gary Mattison (Northern District of New York). Mattison was the case Deputy assigned to work alongside New York authorities. When it came time for the actual arrest, special agents of the State Department stepped in. “Diplomatic Security’s regional offices in India maintain an excellent working relationship with local law enforcement,” said Greg Starr, Director of State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. “That type of close, worldwide capability gave us an unparalleled ability to help apprehend this fugitive.” Horowitz was on the run from authorities for 11-months in a global manhunt. He was arrested by local police in Mahabalipuram, India. Authorities now are determining the most effective approach for returning him to law enforcement in the U.S. Last year, U.S. Marshals completed almost 500 fugitive extraditions and deportations. The federal charge against Horowitz, “unlawful flight to avoid prosecution,” was based on state parole violation warrants related to his 13-year imprisonment for sexual molestation of minors. Earlier this month, the successful working relationship between U.S. Marshals, Diplomatic Security, and other federal agencies was credited with the arrest of Kenneth Freeman at a Hong Kong bus station. Freeman, one of the Marshals “15 Most Wanted Fugitives,” was accused of child pornography and rape. He was an avid competitive bodybuilder, computer expert, and former reserve sheriff’s deputy. Information about other fugitives - such as accused murderer and child molester Daniel William Hiers, Jr. - may be obtained at www.usmarshals.gov. For more information about the international law enforcement work of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, please see www.state.gov/m/ds.