Baruch Lanner
Mug shot of Lanner
Born (1949-10-20) October 20, 1949 (age 74)
New Jersey, United States
Other namesBernard S. Lanner
OccupationFormer rabbi
Criminal statusOn parole
Conviction(s)Child sexual abuse
Criminal penaltySeven years in prison, paroled for four years

Baruch S. Lanner (born October 20, 1949)[1] is an American former Orthodox rabbi who was convicted of child sexual abuse.[2]

Career

Lanner was the principal of Hillel Yeshiva High School in Ocean Township, New Jersey and later the director of regions for the Orthodox Union's National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY).[3][4]

Crimes

In 2000, an investigative series published in The Jewish Week[5] alleged that Lanner had physically and sexually abused young people for decades. Lanner resigned the day after it was published.[6] The story, "Stolen Innocence," later won an award for "meritorious journalism."[7]

An investigation was conducted by the Orthodox Union (OU). The investigating committee, headed by then-Hillel President Richard Joel, spent over $1 million interviewing more than 140 people and issued a 330-page report detailing the abuse.[8] The report alleged that Lanner had physically, sexually and emotionally abused dozens of teenagers, including fondling girls and kneeing boys in the groin, and that the abuse had begun in 1970.[9] As a result of the report, the executive vice president of the OU, Rabbi Raphael Butler, resigned. He had been criticized for failing to act on earlier complaints.[10]

Lanner was convicted in 2002 of sexually abusing two teenage girls who attended the religious school where he had been principal, and sentenced to seven years in prison.[5] An appeals court dismissed one of the child endangerment charges in 2005.[11] He was released on parole on January 10, 2008,[1] and was given parole for four years.[12]

Aftermath

A second report commissioned in 2001 by the OU found that the abuse had been overlooked for decades, despite multiple complaints, and that "profound errors of judgment" had been made, including failures of management.[9][13] The case has been described as "well-publicized" and a "watershed in the way the Orthodox community addresses sexual abuse".[14]

In 2003, the members of the Beth Din that had investigated Lanner in 1989, Rabbis Mordechai Willig, Yosef Blau, and Aaron Levine, apologized to the victims for not acting to stop the abuse. Blau was singled out by Willig for counseling victims over the years.[15][16]

Move to Israel

In June 2022, Lanner flew to Israel under the guise of tourism and requested Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. The Israeli government awarded Lanner temporary legal residency.[17] On July 19, 2022, Minister Ayelet Shaked announced that Israel would not be offering citizenship to Lanner in light of his convictions in the US. He remains in Israel under a temporary visa.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Offender Details Archived May 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, accessed via "NJ Dept of Corrections - Offender Details" Archived January 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. (Click on "accept"; on the next screen enter "Lanner" and "Baruch" and click on "submit"; on the next screen click on his "sbi number", which is 000652003C.), New Jersey Department of Corrections. Accessed January 17, 2008.
  2. ^ Smothers, Ronald. Rabbi Convicted of Sexual Abuse Is Freed on Bail Pending Appeal The New York Times, October 12, 2002
  3. ^ "World Briefs", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, September 20, 2002.
  4. ^ Rosenblatt, Gary. "Stolen Innocence: RABBI BARUCH LANNER, the charismatic magnet of NCSY, was revered in the Orthodox Union youth group, despite longtime reports of abuse of teens.", The Jewish Week, June 23, 2000. Accessed December 7, 2008. "Baruch Lanner is widely regarded as one of the most brilliant, dynamic and charismatic educators in Jewish life today. As director of regions of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, an arm of the Orthodox Union, the 50-year-old rabbi has been working with and supervising teenagers for more than three decades."
  5. ^ a b Smothers, Ronald (October 12, 2002). "Rabbi Convicted of Sexual Abuse Is Freed on Bail Pending Appeal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
  6. ^ "Youth groups react to sex-abuse reports" Herwald, Margi. The Cleveland Jewish News. Cleveland, Ohio: Jun 30, 2000. Vol. 76, Iss. 14; pg. 17
  7. ^ Beliefnet.com
  8. ^ "Orthodox Union board to vote on report on sex molestation probe;" ELLI WOHLGELERNTER. The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem: Dec 25, 2000. pg. 04
  9. ^ a b Jacobs, Andrew. "Orthodox Group Details Accusations That New Jersey Rabbi Abused Teenagers", The New York Times, December 27, 2000. Accessed November 21, 2007.
  10. ^ "Top O.U. official resigns, but critics say it's not enough", Wiener, Julie. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. New York: Jan 24, 2001. pg. 8
  11. ^ "Split Ruling On Lanner Appeal" Ain, Stewart. The New York Jewish Week. (Manhattan edition). New York, N.Y.: Feb 18, 2005. Vol. 217, Iss. 39; pg. 1
  12. ^ Rosenblatt, Gary. "Lanner to be released from jail next week." Archived January 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, The Jewish Week, January 9, 2008. Accessed January 8, 2008
  13. ^ "A Scandal’s Echo" Julie Gruenbaum Fax, Religion Editor and Julie Wiener, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Jewish Journal, January 5, 2001.
  14. ^ "Rabbi Expelled Over Sex Abuse Claims"[permanent dead link], Chanan Tigay, Special to the Baltimore Jewish Times, New York City, April 1, 2005.
  15. ^ "Lanner Bet Din Rabbi Apologizes: Rabbi Willig says he had `blind spots' over the years, asks for forgiveness." Rosenblatt, Gary. The New York Jewish Week. (Manhattan edition). New York, N.Y.: Feb 28, 2003. Vol. 215, Iss. 39; pg. 8
  16. ^ "Rabbi Willig Apology Stirs Campus". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2007-11-25.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Avi Robinson, The Commentator (Yeshiva College student newspaper), March 6, 2003
  17. ^ Kaplan Sommer, Allison; Maltz, Judy (July 7, 2022). "Israel Grants Residency Status to Rabbi Convicted of Child Sex Abuse". Haaretz. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  18. ^ Kaplan Sommer, Allison; Maltz, Judy (July 19, 2022). "Convicted Sex Abuser Rabbi Baruch Lanner Denied Israeli Citizenship". Haaretz. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
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