Daniel Hayman
Sydney detectives have charged a businessman with child
sexual abuse offences at Bondi's Jewish Yeshiva centre during the 1980s.
A 49-year-old man was arrested on Monday afternoon in the
suburb of Queens Park in Sydney's east and later charged with two counts of
gross indecency against 14 and 16 year old males at the Jewish Centre in 1985
and 1986.
He has been refused bail and detectives want people with
further information about the alleged 1980s offences to come forward.
Fairfax Media has confirmed the arrested man is Daniel
Hayman, who has been residing in Los Angeles in recent years.
The arrest and charging of Hayman overnight is likely to put
some of Australia's most senior rabbinical figures under scrutiny over their
failures to act on complaints from victims.
Despite complaints, Hayman was never reported to police and
left Australia to live in Los Angles Jewish community, where leaders again
acted to shield him.
Corporate records show Hayman was a director of a major
Australian Jewish educational arm for several years after his alleged sexual
abuse of boys.
Fairfax Media has previously revealed that Hayman recently
told one of his alleged victims that Yeshiva spiritual leader Rabbi Pinchus
Feldman had admonished him about 25 years ago over his relationship with a boy.
The leader of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia,
Moshe Gutnick, in March revealed he failed to alert police to an anonymous
complaint about Hayman in the 1980s.
Rabbi Gutnick said in hindsight he was wrong not to alert
police. Rabbi Feldman said he had no recollection of any confession of child
sex abuse 25 years ago.
Fairfax also revealed this year an audio recording of
another senior Australian rabbi discussing Hayman's alleged interaction with
boys or adolescents.
In the tape recording, Rabbi Baruch Lesches said some of
Hayman's alleged victims may have consented.
Rabbi Lesches, who was at Bondi Yeshiva at the time of the
alleged incidents and now is a major New York Jewish leader, also cautioned
against reporting Hayman to police.
He later apologised for his private remarks after Fairfax
released the audio of his discussion about Hayman.
Two recent convictions of men associated with Melbourne's
Yeshiva college in St Kilda for historic child sex offences have put the
spotlight on the attitudes Australia's senior orthodox Jewish leaders to
handling abuse claims.
Victorian detectives are investigating how senior St Kilda
Yeshiva figures handled complaints against David Kramer and David Cyprus, who
were both employed by the school.
Strike Force Bungo was formed last year to investigate child
sexual abuse in the Jewish community in Sydney's east. Hayman is alleged to
have abuse the boys while a volunteer supervisor at a camp run by the Yeshiva
centre.
Police have urged anyone with information to call Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit their website.
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