NOT KOSHER

Ultra-Orthodox Counselor Convicted of Sex Abuse

Faces up to 25 years in prison.

For one man it is not a happy Chanukah. A religious counselor in New York’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community was found guilty Monday of “sustained sexual abuse” of a girl who initially approached him with questions about her faith. Nechemya Weberman, 54, looked down silently as the guilty verdict convicting him on 59 counts of sexual abuse of a child and endangering the welfare of a child was read. Weberman faces 25 years in prison. The accuser—now 18 years old—detailed how the counselor molested her behind a locked office door from the age of 12 to 15. The verdict is a much-anticipated end to a controversial trial that has rocked the tight-knit ultra-Orthodox community.