Monsey Rabbi & Principal Arraigned on Child Sex Abuse Charges

Rabbi and school principal Gabriel Bodenheimer, 71, is due back in court Aug. 26 to face charges of child sexual abuse.

Bodenheimer, of 3 Dunhill Lane, Monsey, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to an indictment charging

him with:

• Three counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, class “B” Felonies

• One count of Sex Abuse in the First Degree, a class “D” Felony

Bodenheimer has been principal of Bais Mikroh, a boy’s yeshiva in Monsey, for 25 years.

He is accused of subjecting a student to sexual abuse starting when the boy was 7, said Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe. According to the charges, the series of allegedly sexual assaults was performed in his office at the school between August 1, 2009 and July 31, 2010.

The boy and his parents reported the alleged abuse in December to authorities, according to News 12.

Bodenheimer’s bail was set at $25,000. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 25 years in state prison.

According to failedmessiah.com, a blog covering orthodox Judaism, “Bodenheimer reportedly has been active in an effort to change New York State’s education aid formula so the embattled, haredi-controlled and scandal-plagued East Ramapo school district could get more state funding.”

Supervising Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Parietti and Senior Assistant District Attorney Kevin Dunlap will be prosecuting the case.

This is not the first indictment against a Rockland County rabbi in 2014. New Square rabbi Moshe Menachem Taubenfeld, was charged with child sexual abuse in June.