Episode 33 - Penner Penned a Letter (For an Alleged Abuser)

Outcry

in 2021, Judah Karkowsky was accused of sexually abusing a child at the Young Israel of Woodmere, and despite the case being dismissed for procedural reasons, Karkowsky was nonetheless suspended from the shul.

Following the dismissal of that case, Karkowsky, in an effort to regain his position in shul, forged a transcript of the dismissal hearing to make it look like the judge had dismissed the case on merit grounds. He then used that transcript to try and trick the shul into allowing him back in, in addition to filing a notice of claim against his employer, the Woodmere Fire Department, to demand $15M from them for having fired him when he was initially accused. His obvious fraud was caught and following his conviction at a jury trial, he was sentenced to a year in jail.
RCA Executive Vice President, and Kesher Families founder, Rabbi Menachem Penner, and his wife Adeena Penner, wrote letters of support for Karkowsky praising his character and good deeds and pleading for leniency from the judge. They also made themselves available as character witnesses on his behalf, and showed up in support of the Karkowsky family at his sentencing.
In this episode we discuss this scandal, how the Penners responded, and why it's such a problem when rabbis - especially influential public figures like the Penners - engage in such public support of alleged abusers.
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SHOW NOTES:
https://www.firelawblog.com/2024/06/23/ny-emt-and-commissioner-sentenced/