Serebryanski found guilty of abuse
A Victorian jury delivered a guilty verdict in Manny Waks’ child abuse case.
Two years after his extradition from the US, Velvel Serebryanski, 61, was found guilty by the County Court of Victoria on Friday December 5 of abusing Manny Waks when he was a child.
Serebryanski denied three charges of indecent assault and one charge of sexual penetration of a child aged between 10 and 16, but a jury found him guilty on all four counts.
Prosecutor Jason Harkess reportedly told the jury that Serebryanski assaulted Waks at the Yeshivah Centre on Shavuot. Waks reported the abuse to police in 1996 and confronted Serebryanski about the allegations in February 2017.
Serebryanski’s barrister Ian Hill KC said his client denied the offending and raised concerns about the police investigation and the fallibility of memory.
Waks, who grew up in Melbourne but now lives in Israel, gave permission to The AJN to identify him and stated: “Most victims and survivors of child sexual abuse never get any justice. With today’s verdict, I’ve now held to account both of my abusers, Velvel Serebryanski and David Cyprys.”