May 2, 2012
Brooklyn rabbi’s sexual abuse conviction overturned on appeal
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A New York appeals court overturned the conviction of a Brooklyn rabbi on charges of molesting a teenage boy over the withholding of evidence.
Rabbi Baruch Lebovits had served one year of his prison sentence before being released to house arrest pending the outcome of his appeal, which was announced last week.
The decision by the State Supreme Court’s appellate division said that while the evidence shows that Lebovits was guilty, he was deprived of his right to a fair trial because prosecutors did not hand over until the middle of the trial a detective’s notes about one of the witnesses that the defense was expected to call.
Lebovits was sentenced in April 2010 to 10 years, eight months to 32 years in prison. He received consecutive sentences on eight counts of sexual abuse.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes told The New York Times that his office is prepared to retry the case.
