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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Brooklyn Rabbi Gershon Kranczer and sons accused of sexually abusing relatives, young girls: police

Rabbi Kranczer is believed to still be hiding-out in Israel, he may have changed his identity and shaved his beard.


















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This is house of Gershom Kranczer,58, who has been accused of molesting several young women. He and one of his adult sons have fled the country
















A Brooklyn rabbi and three of his sons are accused of preying on four female relatives - and the sexual abuse may have started as many as 15 years ago.

Detectives suspect Rabbi Gershon Kranczer, 58, abused two underage relatives, while three of his sons - ages 24, 21 and 15 - repeatedly attacked other girls, police said.

Investigators said Kranczer and his 21-year-old son, Asher, who is legally blind, fled to Israel Monday and haven't been found.

The rabbi's 24-year-old son, Yechezkel Kranczer, turned himself in to the NYPD Thursday, and the 15-year-old - whose name is being withheld - surrendered to police the day before.

The horrifying abuse came to light when the oldest victim, a 20-year-old woman, told a co-worker at a yeshiva the rabbi had sexually assaulted her. The co-worker went to cops, who soon learned that three of the victim's female relatives - ages 19, 17 and 8 - also allegedly were abused in the rabbi's home.

The 20-year-old said she was frequently molested by Gershon Kranczer - the former head of Yeshiva Tehila L'Dovid - for the past 15 years, police said.

Neighbors were stunned at the allegations. "I've known him for 32 years, and he's an angel, a saint," said friend Sol Borger, 60. "Whenever I need anything, I know I can go to him. There's no way he would do this."

Investigators raided the rabbi's dilapidated Midwood home, where he and his wife - who are first cousins, police sources say - raised their 14 children.

The couple's children range in age from 10 to 28, and those younger than 18 were removed and placed in the care of the Administration for Children's Services.

Investigators do not believe Kranczer's wife was involved in the pattern of abuse and may have unwittingly given her husband a ride to Kennedy Airport on Monday, police sources said.

Her husband unexpectedly resigned from the yeshiva three months ago, sources said.

Detectives are not certain if other female relatives also were abused. Local leaders expressed worry the victims stayed silent for so long because of a culture of silence in the Orthodox community.

"Too many victims are then victimized by people who are angry at for them going forward," said Assemblyman Dov Hikind. "People are afraid to even talk about it."

Yechezkel Kranczer was charged with 70 counts of sexually abusing relatives - ages 17and 20, prosecutors said. The 15-year-old suspect was charged with sexually abusing an 8-year-old relative, police said.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said cops were coordinating with Israeli authorities to track down the fugitives.

28 comments:

  1. Scumbag had 14 children. Oy gevalt!

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    1. a boy from the old time he dserves to be caught and sent back

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  2. I can't remember the name of the rabbi but he married his niece. Is that allowed?

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    1. he is a bitch and send back asap

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  3. Actually 2Cents...Yeshiva teachers ARE Rabbis. Most frum men have smicha and are Rabbis. And haven't you even heard of welfare? These communities are notorious for milking the welfare system. And guess you don't believe in incest or you want people to think this doesn't happen?

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  4. when cousins marry and have kids , they are most of the time disabled.. wake up white people...

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  5. SICK!!! now it is up to ISRAEL to send this rapist back to America for justice. If they dont send them back right away then our courts should be held accountable for him leaving the country and our state dept should be all over the ISRAEL govt to bring this sick man back to America...and on top of that the wife is his first cousin? no wonder the kids have some problems!....this crapola should be front page news!!!!

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  6. Holy shit!! He was my principal for a year in 93-94 and his son was a close friend of mine for a few years!! I'm surprised to hear them get charged for something like that, but if its true you gotta get em.

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    1. you are 100persent right is afuck ass hole

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  7. For the past few years, it was the yiddeshe "ganov" of the week as we read story after story about ponzi schemes, tax evasion theft and fraud committed by individuals who appeared to be frumme yidden like Abramhoff, Dwek and those the New Jersey rabbonim, the Spinka rebbe, SMR, etc. Now we have to read about the yiddeshe "abuser" of the week as these case seem to profliferate. Is it just that these events always happened and we didn't read about it as quickly and the internet changes it all or have the midos of the heimeshe kehillah simply gone downhill very fast.

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  8. This is a shocking' sick story. I hope the leaders the comunity deal with it, rather than sweep it under the already crowded rug. For all you rabbis that know why gd punnishes us, doesnt send rain etc, maybe this is the real reason.

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  9. These type of perpetrators are despicable; it is bad enough when we hear of gentiles committing these crimes. No punishment is enough for them!

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  10. Israel will not have to extradite the rabbi, since it has no extradition agreements with any country. I wonder why.

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  11. Has there been a photo issued of Kranczer?
    How does the public (in Israel) know who to look out for?

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    1. bec they dont know how to searchfor a jerk

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  12. Most frum men have smicha?? whatever!

    Oh and yes, marrying a cousin or a niece (not an aunt) is allowed, even praised. Go learn your sources.

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  13. I can't believe it. I know Rabbi Kranczer. One of my children went to Tehilla l'dovid many years ago. How sad.

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    1. he a big losser he playing with his father health

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  14. he ran a school for special needz biys. his address is posten online. who knows how many kids he abused?

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  15. At this point, there has yet to be a trial, no one knows it definatly happened or if something else very bad happened & the daughter needs to get even.
    However the flight to Israel is a red flag, again he must stand trial or plead guilty, before we judge him.
    What bothers me is, that if proven true, his kids were raised to this for his pleasure, and probably got no pleasure of their own from it, now the kids including a fifteen year old are going on trial. If your father taught you & raised you to do it, in a community where no one speaks about it,and your father is a Rabbi a nechanech an esteemed communitty member How on earth should the kid know they are commmitting the most violent crimes.
    Sure they need therapy & deprogramming, but why jail them, they were born in jail, and have been there ever since.
    Unfortunatly this family may never be able to do shiduchim, if this is true or not.

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  16. shocking! i know the rabbi for 30+ years. he is a fine individual who is always doing for others. it is just impossible to believe.

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  17. CRAP!! NO MORE ZICHRON SHLOME REFUAH IN CDC

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    1. WHEN ICAME TO HIS PLACE I REMBER MOSHE SPELBERG SAND YOSSEF AND SAMUL SUCKING THUMB HECTOLD THEM NO AND ALWAYS YELLED AND MOSHE

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    2. AND HE DESERVES DEATH PENTEY

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  18. even if this story is true, and this Rabbi abused women, maybe we should help support the family? why push down the family anymore than they are? the girls are at a marriageable age, dont ruin their chances of shidduchim by judging them on the acts of their father. and i find it hard to believe that the 15 yr old has commited this crime since he is not 100percent, if you know what i mean. i know him personally. and i know personally taht the family is hurting real bad. if you really want to help, stop talking abt it and pointing fingers! go make the family a warm dinner! or foster the children that were put in an agency! this is a time to strengthen them with Torah love, not push them away as outcasts, not to make the children turn to drugs, crime, and suicide as a mean to end this hurting time. think positively of ways to lighten the situation for the family, even if the father was correctly charged. imagine if it were you or your child who had to go bare witness against your father ON TV!!! for the whole world to see. look beyond this; children dont always reflect their parents, give these children a chance!!!

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  19. Innocent until proven guilty!! Who said this whole thing isn't made up from start to end by someone trying to get even with the father. I personally know the family and simply am unable to belive this is true!

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  20. These headlines make you jump to unsupported conclusions. People who know the Kranczers are aware of the challanges faced by the family. Yes they are a first cousin arranged marriage and this was possibly motivated by the Rabbi himself being legaly blind (possibly due to an interuterine maternal Rubella infection) as well as a talmud chochum. A number of the children were born with catarracts that were surgically removed and have variable degrees of sight. There are other physical challanges as well as psychological ones. Faced with these limitations, the Rabbi started a program to educate many other children with similar disabilities. Some comments have described the Rabbi as saintly. His actions in support of providing a religious education to this group of disadvantaged children IS a saintly endeavor. My wife and I were guests at the yeshiva where a chanuka or purim play was presented. The Rabbi certainly had his job under controll which was not easy. The Rebetsin cooked for her family, the small army of students, and her guests. Coordinating services, medical, wic, physical therapy, occupational therapy and other procurement of services for this large a struggling family is heroic. I cannot condone sexual abuse if it is proved, but it would be easy to patroll this large a group especially if acts were perpetrated by individuals who did not wish them to be discovered. But with the close proximity enforced by the crowding, I would assume that everyone involved would have to be acquiescent, an assumption that I personaly find hard to believe. I agree that these actions, if true, as they certainly have not been proven, are SOCIAL crimes. A ballance must be stuck between secular sensationalisation and community silence and enablement. There is great merrit in those voices who speak to the taking into consideration of the family going forward. This will scar deeply. There remains a lot to be done. The Rabbi`s flight was clearly ill conceived. Let us do best for those who are and will be injured. Our society is far from perfect, and is part of G-D. It behoves not to add to injury and price of benevolence amounts to Tikum Olom. Exam the agenda and indirect benefit to all commentators including myself.

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  21. I have known Gershon for 40 years and he always has been one of, if not the most, kindest, caring people I've known. I don't know what to think. I do hope there is some explanation as to what this is all about. I will give the benefit of any doubt until evidence shows otherwise. YK

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