Rabbi Yehuda Kolko indicted on new sex charges

Rabbi Yehuda Kolko -Then and Now

Friday, August 17, 2007 -- A Brooklyn grand jury indicted Rabbi Yehuda Kolko once again. This time for sexually molesting a six year old child in a classroom of Yeshiva Torah Temimah three years ago.

Rabbi Yosef Blau says:
The new indictment is a horrifying reminder of the ongoing danger to children of denial and delay in responding to accusations of sexual abuse. Recently on this blog (the Unorthodox Jew blog) defenders of the Charedi world have pointed out the flaws of the modern Orthodox. They are correct that the scandal of protecting sexual abusers is a broad phenomenon in the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. This does not reduce the responsibility of the rabbinical leadership within a particular group to protect potential victims. An admission of failure in the past is a necessary step in honestly dealing with this problem. When such acknowledgment is viewed as an attack on "emunas chachamim" (faith in the Sages) the vulnerable will remain at risk.

Rabbi Yehuda Kolko was originally arrested in New York City on December 7, 2006 following a long-term investigation, police said.He was charged with four counts of sexual abuse, including two felony counts, and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

Rabbi Yudi Kolko and Yeshiva Torah Temimah were hit with a $20 million civil lawsuit on May 5, 2006, accusing him of molesting two students more than 25 years ago.

One of the alleged victims said Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, 60, sexually assaulted him when he was a seventh-grade student.

Rabbi Joel Kolko was arrested in New York City on December 7, 2006 following a long-term police investigation. He was charged with four counts of sexual abuse, including two felony counts, and endangering the welfare of a child. The most recent sexual abuse was allegedly against an 8-year-old boy, who says he was abused while he was in the first grade during the 2002-03 school year.