‘Shocking abuse claim’
A SENIOR member of the Melbourne Jewish community is believed to be at the centre of fresh child sexual abuse claims.
In a post on Facebook, Manny Waks, founder of Jewish child sexual abuse victim advocacy group Tzedek, wrote that he had accompanied an alleged victim to the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team of Victoria Police on Tuesday, where a formal statement detailing the alleged abuse was submitted.
The alleged perpetrator and alleged victim cannot be named for legal reasons.
“The allegations in this case are groundbreaking and shocking from a number of perspectives – the seniority of the perpetrator within our community, the location of at least some of the sexual abuse, the sexual abuse itself, and the subsequent threats,” Waks wrote.
“While sadly we have become accustomed to new revelations of child sexual abuse and cover-ups on a regular basis, if/when these allegations are made public, they will no doubt shake our community to the core,” he added.
The news comes just weeks after a man pled guilty to child sexual abuse offences believed to have taken place while employed by one of the Jewish community’s most prominent communal organisations. Earlier this year, David Kramer, a former employee at Melbourne’s Yeshivah College, also pled guilty to a raft of child sexual abuse charges.
The trial of David Cyprys, another former Yeshivah College employee charged with 40 counts relating to the sexual abuse of 12 victims, is set to get underway later this month.
Waks appealed to anyone with information regarding child abuse within the Jewish community to contact him.
“We would like to take this opportunity to once again urge anyone with information on cases of child sexual abuse and/or cover-ups to contact us for guidance and support,” he said.
ADAM KAMIEN
Manny Waks, founder of Jewish child sexual abuse victim advocacy group Tzedek.
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