The River Reporter, June 15, 1995

Federal child sex charge has local tie

By TOM RUE
MONTICELLO - An ultra-orthodox rebbe arrested in Los Angeles for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl on a jetliner had a prior similar charge dismissed in Village of Monticello Justice Court, according to The New York Times and Cable News Network.

Yehuda Friedlander, now 44, was charged in 1991 with sexual abuse in the third degree, a misdemeanor. The charge was reportedly adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, and ultimately dismissed and sealed. It allegedly involved an offense against an adult woman.

At the time of the accusation, Friedlander reportedly managed a children's summer camp in Sullivan County.

Former village justice Mark Schulman was the judge who dismissed the charge against the rebbe, according to two sources familiar with the case. Local authorities declined to release any information, claiming the case was sealed by the justice court.

Friedlander was arrested on June 1 with Israel Grunwald, the chief rabbi of an Hungarian Hasidic congregation in Brooklyn, known as the Pupas, on May 29 after arriving on a flight from Australia. Friedlander is assistant rabbi of the same congregation. Both pled not guilty.

The girl, whose name was not reported, told authorities one rabbi reached inside her shirt and fondled her breasts during the flight, and the other pushed his hands into her underpants.

Federal magistrate Carolyn Turchin is Los Angeles denied Friedlander bail, stating she wanted to know more about the Monticello case first. Grunwald was released on a $10,000 bond, pending a June 21 appearance.

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