An orthodox rabbi was convicted Thursday of molesting a female Israeli Army officer on a trans-Atlantic flight.
Gavriel Bidany was sitting next to the 23-year-old woman on a Delta jet last month and reached out from under his blanket to fondle her as she slept.
Magistrate Ramon Reyes said the victim's testimony about the assault was "compelling and wholly believeable."
Reyes, who presided over the bench trial in Brooklyn Federal Court, said there was "no question in my mind" about the rabbi's guilt.
Bidany, the married father of 11 children, showed no emotion when the verdict was announced.
The woman, a lieutenant commander of a missile defense unit, declined to comment. The Daily News is withholding her name because she is the victim of a sex crime.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Sarratt ridiculed Bidany's claim that if there was touching, it happened inadvertently while he slept.
"If these were random reaches of a sleeping man why is it the defendant had such precise accuracy, reaching private areas?" Sarratt said.
The prosecutor also blasted defense lawyer Saul Bienenfield's argument that the victim would have pummeled the defendant with self-defense skills learned in the Army if she was attacked.
"[The victim] acted perfectly and with remarkable poise despite the defendant's repeated violations of her personal space," Sarratt said.
Bidany faces up to six months in prison when he is sentenced next week by Reyes. He is free on $500,000 bail.
Guilt by accusation, without any evidence, of an orthodox rabbi is outrageous while all stated to have happened on airplane in view of everyone, by sleeping accuser who remains anonymous!
ReplyDeleteit isn't true. Od Yosef chai.
ReplyDeleteHe's a loser. Since he got a "bench trial", it was left up to the judge to decide. The evidence in this kind of trail is the testimony itself. Of course, he could have had a jury trial, but he and his lawyer obviously thought that would be worse. (probably get more time in jail). It would have been classified as a rape.
ReplyDelete"Bidany's claim that if there was touching, it happened inadvertently while he slept." --
Yes Judge, my hand reached into the cash drawer while I was daydreaming at the store.
He'll probably skip bail and run to Israel like so many have done before...child molester Avrohom Mondrowitz, another is Sheinbein, the kid who killed a teenage friend, and cut him up with a chain saw.
What happened to reasonable doubt. Where are ANY witnesses??? What if she tells a really good story. What if she was sleeping and imagining things? What if it was a RALLY GOOD or BAD dream? What if she believes those dreams were real? What if she refuses to admit to those imaginings? She tells a really good story and the Judge is so sympathetic!!!! How do we convict a father of 11 with no evidence? Great, Mr anonymous, who commented before me can go around accusing anyone of anything and with a Judge like Mr Reyes, the accused will be convicted just on his say so and accuser responsible for damages. What a great legal system we have!!!!
ReplyDelete