After a man reported to authorities that is mentally disabled teenage son was being molested in a Jewish ritual bath house in Brooklyn, he is now being shunned by members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
Those who come forward often encounter intense intimidation from a neighbors and from rabbinical authorities rushing them to drop the cases.
“Abuse victims and their families have been expelled from religious schools and synagogues, shunned by fellow ultra-Orthodox Jews and targeted for harassment intended to destroy their businesses. Some victims’ families have been offered money, ostensibly to help pay for therapy for the victims, but also to stop pursuing charges, victims and victims’ advocates said.”
