**4. Solutions**

196 Sexual Abuse – Breaking the Silence

For our present purposes, the most important point is the fact that Mondrowitz obtained several of his victims from Ohel – and that the agency did nothing in response to their pleas for help (Lesher, 2009, p. 157). This allegation was made in print as long ago as 1999, when one of the police detectives who investigated the Mondrowitz case "told The [New York] Post that his 1984 investigation," while leading him to the conclusion that Mondrowitz had molested "hundreds of children – including some Ohel orphans," was stymied "when cops tried to question the agency." According to the detective, "They weren't cooperating. . . . 'Kids . . . had complained to Ohel and it was swept under the rug . . . [and] never reported.'" Ohel officials have denied the detective's allegations. But one of the authors has personally interviewed one of Mondrowitz's other victims, who clearly remembers speaking, years ago, to an Ohel foster child who told him – and his parents – that he had reported Mondrowitz's abuse to Ohel officials, who had ignored him (Montero, 1999). The credibility of Ohel's denials in the Mondrowitz case may be gauged from the following case history.

Two typical themes dominate the case of Simcha Adler, a camp counselor employed by Ohel who, according to his victims, repeatedly raped them at knifepoint. First, Ohel seems to have made every possible effort to minimize the offender's punishment and to silence the victims. Second, Ohel claimed not to know of any danger posed by the abuser when, in fact,

According to press reports, Adler repeatedly and violently abused his eleven-year-old victims at a summer camp where he was their counselor, and then continued to molest and rape them at Ohel, where both were foster children. Yet the boys' complaints to Ohel officials were ignored – for more than a year – "until a worker caught [Adler] straddling

Amazingly, although Ohel officials knew the abuse had been severe and chronic, it stood by silently as Adler plea-bargained for a sentence that did not involve even a single day of jail time. Still more amazingly, the plea bargain was concluded less than two months after his

Despite charges of sodomy and sexual abuse that could have resulted in a sentence of more than twenty years in prison, court records reveal that Adler's punishment was minimal: five years' probation and psychological counseling. His victims only learned of Adler's plea deal

"'It's a crime that he could walk away . . . and have a normal life,' said Michael, now a mailroom worker in Midtown. 'This man ruined my life.' . . . . 'I was [angry], but I couldn't do anything – I wasn't smart enough to do anything,' said Robert, now a City

Here, in a nutshell, is a vivid illustration of Ohel's priorities. Ohel took no action when the boys complained of heinous abuse for over a year; Ohel never accepted any responsibility for what was done to them; Ohel never talked to the boys about the status of the criminal case. (One of the victims remembered "vaguely" that an Ohel officer told him, after the fact, that Adler was getting "probation; other than that, there does not appear to have been any communication between Ohel and the victims about the prosecution of their assailant.)

College freshman who wants to be an optometrist" (Montero, 1999).

Michael," as Douglas Montero reported in the *New York Post*.

years later, and were outraged, as Montero reported:

**3.3 Simcha Adler** 

arrest.

evidence suggests it did know.

While the sort of fundamental rethinking of abuse issues that must take place if institutions like Ohel are to be truly reformed is likely years away, practical short-term strategies may still be suggested. This is particularly true because Ohel receives government money, which makes it accountable to state child welfare authorities, as well as to the federal government, as discussed below. The first major steps toward reforming the agency require little more than the political will to exert power already inherent in government authorities.

#### **4.1 Federal mandate**

Some years ago, Congress passed the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) for the purpose of helping the states create and maintain more effective child welfare systems.<sup>6</sup> The authors believe that this federal statute has the potential – so far,

<sup>6</sup> 42 U.S.C. § 5101 *et seq.*; 42 U.S.C. § 5116 *et seq.* 

What Went Wrong at Ohel Children's Home –

**6. References** 

1997), pp. (15-18)

58465-671-5, Waltham, MA

(103-108), ISSN 1521-1037

58465-671-5, Waltham, MA

Vol. 15, No. 2, (April 1990), p. (49)

1-58465-671-5, Waltham, MA

*Hearing Record*, (May 14, 1993), pp. (32-44)

*New York Newsday*, (December 16, 1990), pp. (6, 22-23)

and What Can Be Done About Its Failure to Protect Jewish Children from Abuse? 199

and nurture children, demands serious scrutiny from anyone concerned with the future of child welfare in today's religious communities. Many such communities enjoy unprecedented political power and opportunities in the United States. These opportunities can be used for good – as when community members use religious values to impress the importance of compassion and human dignity on political institutions – or they can lead to abuses. The authors hope to see the sort of abuses we have observed at Ohel quickly curbed

Barrett, W., & Bowles, J. (1994). Unorthodox Politics: Did Joe Hynes' Jewish Communityh Ties Influence Four Cases? *The Village Voice*, (September 6, 1994), pp. (13-18) Borsuk, A. (1997). Old fashioned Jew, Old Fashioned Reporter. *Neiman Reports*, Vol. 51, (Fall

Brown, E. (2009). Straying the Course: Can Jewish and Secular Leadership Archetypes Rein

Butler S. (1999). Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, by Sue Silverman:

Chayil, E. (2011). Orthodox Jewish Child Abuse: Shattering a Traumatic Silence, *One Voice*

Dratch, M. (2009). A Community of Co-enablers: Why Are Jews Ignoring Traditional Jewish

Dorff, E.N. (2009). Foreword, In: *Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities & Child Sex* 

Fifield, A. & Lesher, M. (1996). A Child's at Stake: A Custody Fight Becomes a Political

Featherman, J. (1995). Jews and Sexual Abuse, In: *Sexual Abuse in Nine North American* 

Glick, M. (2000). Dealing With "Orthodox" Child Molesters: A Response to the Community's Response. *Jewish Press*, (February 4, 2000), pp. (87-88) Greenberg, I. (1990). Abuse in Jewish Families: Rabbis Can Help by Speaking Out. *Moment*,

Harman, R. (1993). Public Hearing on Family Court System. *New York State Legislative*

Hemphill, C. (1990). The Agony of Yacov Riegler: Bureaucracy Fails to Save Brooklyn Boy.

Lesher, M. (2009). The Fugitive and the Forgotten: Cracking the Cold Case of Rabbi

Lesher, M. (2011). Their Brothers' Keepers : New York Should Stop Funding Separate, Private Police Forces for Orthodox Jews. *New York Post*, (July 31, 2011), pp. (21-22)

Avrohom Mondrowitz, In: *Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities & Child Sex Scandals*, Amy Neustein, (Ed.), pp. (126-162), Brandeis University Press, ISBN 978-

JFCAdvocacy@yahoogroups.com, (August 1, 2011)

Nightmare. *Village Voice*, (October 1, 1996), pp. (10, 12-13)

Publications, ISBN 0-8039-5435-2, Thousand Oaks, California

ISBN 978-1-58465-671-5, Waltham, MA

in Religious Leaders? In: *Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities & Child Sex Scandals*, Amy Neustein, (Ed.), pp. (60-73), Brandeis University Press, ISBN 978-1-

Reviewed by Sandra Butler. *Journal of Religion and Abuse*, Vol. 1, No.1, (1999), pp.

Law by Protecting the Abuser? In: *Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities & Child Sex Scandals*, Amy Neustein, (Ed.), pp. (105-125), Brandeis University Press,

*Scandals*, Amy Neustein, (Ed.), pp. (ix-xiii), Brandeis University Press, ISBN 978-1-

*Cultures: Treatment and Prevention*, Lisa Aronson Fontes (Ed.), pp. (128-155), Sage

so that both religious and government values may be better served in the future.

unfortunately, unused – to support a detailed federal inquiry into the child welfare system of any state that accepts federal money under this statute, as New York certainly does (Neustein & Lesher, 1999). Such an inquiry could, and should, include an examination into the proper oversight of agencies like Ohel. Has the agency complied with state reporting laws? Has it met government standards for maintaining the safety of foster children in its care? If not – and our research suggests it has not – federal funding should be terminated, a penalty that would almost certainly spur reform.

There are also federal civil rights statutes that Ohel's officials may be found to have violated if they have knowingly suppressed the reporting of child sex abuse. For example, Section 241 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, provides that a conspiracy of two or more people "to . . . threaten, or intimidate any person in any State . . . in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States" is a federal crime. Since access to the court system is just such a "right or privilege," this means a concerted effort by Ohel officials to prevent a child abuse victim from pursuing a criminal charge may justify federal prosecution. This point should be borne firmly in mind where Ohel's acts are at issue.

#### **4.2 Investigation**

Because of Ohel's close relationship with secular authorities, it necessarily falls under additional regulatory authority. To some extent, therefore, the nature of Ohel's apparent wrongs suggests its own remedy.

The first logical step would be a thorough investigation by the governments that have funded Ohel – those of New York City, New York State and the United States – to ensure that those funds have not been misappropriated. We have already discussed additional authority for such a probe under CAPTA. In any event, the misappropriation of government funds for an improper purpose (for example, the personal enrichment of an officer) would probably involve a violation of law.

Ohel's role in the non-reporting of suspected abuse to authorities might also implicate federal civil rights statutes, as discussed above. Even where there is no criminal violation, the facts unearthed by a federal investigation might support civil litigation by victims who were wrongfully intimidated or pressured not to approach police for protection.
