Rabbi Not Guilty in Child Sex Abuse Case

A Rockland County Judge found Rabbi Moshe Menachem Taubenfeld not guilty Thursday in a case about the sexual abuse of a boy, The Journal News Reports.

The District Attorney said in 2014 that the New Square resident sexually abused the boy with increasing frequency for more than four years. Taubenfeld, 56 and the father of 20, had pleaded not guilty.

See: Rockland County Rabbi Indicted on Child Sex Abuse Charge

Judge Rolf Thorsen cited reasonable doubt and the credibility of the testimony when he announced his decision in the non-jury trial, according to TJN.

Defense attorney Gerard Damiani told Journal News reporter Steve Lieberman that “the pressure that was on from the media, the DA, Brooklyn activists, and public opinion was tremendous.”

Read Lieberman’s entire article here on lohud.com.