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DA Hynes Indicts 4 Men for Attempting to Impede Prosecution in Sex Abuse Case

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Hertzka Berger is one of four Williamsburg men accused of attempting to intimidate the witness in the child abuse case against therapist Nechemya Weberman.Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes this past week announced the indictment of four men for attempting to impede the prosecution in the case against Nechemya Weberman, 53, who is awaiting trial on charges of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree.

Abraham Rubin, 48, was indicted on charges including four counts of Bribing a Witness, two counts of Tampering with a Witness in the Fourth Degree and one count of Coercion in the Second Degree.  If convicted, Rubin faces up to seven years in prison.  The indictment charges Rubin with trying to silence the victim and her boyfriend, who was the outcry witness, and to get them to drop the case by bribing them with $500,000, telling them that they should drop the case because justice would be better served.  Rubin even offered to provide an attorney to the witnesses to counsel them on how to be uncooperative and make themselves unavailable for the upcoming trial.  Rubin suggested that they flee the country to avoid testifying. 

In a separate indictment, brothers Joseph, Jacob and Hertzka Berger have been charged with Coercion in the Second Degree.  Joseph Berger was also charged with Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree.  Jacob Berger has been additionally charged with Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree.  If convicted, Joseph and Hertzka Berger each face a year in jail while Jacob Berger faces up to four years in prison.

According to the indictment, the Bergers are charged with attempting to pressure the victim and witness to not cooperate with law enforcement.  In order to deter them from testifying, they threatened to remove the rabbi-issued kosher certification from the witness’ restaurant.  When the witness would not cave in to their pressure, Jacob Berger went to the restaurant and physically tore down the certification, the indictment alleges.  

The defendants were arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Walsh.  Bail was set for Abraham Rubin at $75,000.  Bail was set for Joseph, Jacob and Hertzkah Berger at $5,000 each.  They are all required to turn in their passports.

District Attorney Hynes said, “Intimidation of victims and witnesses in sex abuse cases in the Orthodox community is what has made prosecuting these cases so difficult.  Victims were afraid to come forward because they would be threatened and shunned in their communities.  My office spares no effort to conceal and protect the identities of sex crimes victims, regardless of their cultural or religious background.  Hopefully, these indictments serve as an example that we will not tolerate individuals who try to interfere with the pursuit of justice.”

In the case of Nechemya Weberman, the defendant, who was the victim’s therapist, is charged with sexually abusing the girl over the course of three years inside his home/office, beginning when she was 12 years old.  

In 2009, District Attorney Hynes created an outreach program, Project Kol Tzedek, which means “Voice of Justice”, aimed at helping sex-crime victims in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish communities to report abuse.  Its goal is to prosecute sexual predators while addressing the concerns of the victims.  Because of the insular nature of Orthodox Jewish communities, and victims who are reluctant to report crimes to secular authorities, this program goes a long way to address those impediments, District Attorney Hynes has stated.

Victims who call the Project Kol Tzedek hotline, (718)250-3000, are not required to identify themselves.  They will speak with a culturally sensitive social worker and a prosecutor from the Sex Crimes Bureau. Prosecutors and social workers are available to meet with victims in a comfortable environment to discuss their cases.

“Project Kol Tzedek’s strength is based on its partnerships with community organizations, such as the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services and Tikvah at Ohel, and Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services,” said District Attorney Hynes.

The indictments of Rubin and Joseph, Jacob and Hertzka Berger are the first cases to result from the formation of a task force that District Attorney Hynes recently set up, which includes Chiefs of the District Attorney’s Rackets and Sex Crimes/Crimes Against Children Divisions, the DA’s Chief Assistant and Chief Investigator, and the NYPD Deputy Chief Commander of the Special Victims Division as well as NYPD Detectives. George Terra is Assistant Chief Investigator.  Joseph Ponzi is Chief Investigator.  Deputy Chief Michael Osgood heads the NYPD’s Special Victims Division.

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