The arrest of a rabbi on sex abuse charges in a New York
case has shaken those at the Jewish community center where he worked.
KNX 1070′s Ed Mertz reported that Menachem Tewel will go
back to New York following his arrest at the JEM Community Center on Santa
Monica Boulevard.
Tewel, 30, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon on an arrest
warrant charging sexual abuse against four boys between 1995 and 2004.
“He will waive extradition and try to get back to New York
as swiftly as possible,” attorney Dana Cole said.
JEM Community Center founder and director Rabbi Hertzel
Illulian, who is also Tewel’s father-in-law, said the allegations were false.
“Everybody knows he’s innocent and a fantastic person,”
Illulian said. “We have thousands of families and people who know him and know
what he does, and nobody believes any of these things are true.”
Members of the Jewish Community Watch, a group whose mission
is to make sure children stay safe from predators, said they found out Tewel
had been accused of child molestation in New York and had warned Illulian about
his son-in-law’s history.
“He was living in New York, people in New York were aware of
the fact that he had molested children, people in Los Angeles did not know
this. He came out here, I guess, thinking he could just start over,” said
Ilanit Gluckowsky.
The indictment remains sealed until after Tewel is
extradited, officials with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said. All of
the boys Tewel is accused of abusing are now adults, according to the Jewish
Journal.
Beverly Hills police Lt. Lincoln Hoshino said there were no
other charges pending in California.
“We conducted an investigation back in August and September
of this year; we were unable to locate any victims,” Hoshino said. “We did a
site inspection, and did not find any criminal activity.”
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