Baruch Lanner

Baruch Lanner (born October 20, 1949) [https://www6.state.nj.us/DOC_Inmate/details?x=1248335&n=0 Offender Details] , accessed via [https://www6.state.nj.us/DOC_Inmate/inmatefinder?i=I "NJ Dept of Corrections - Offender Details"] . (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.] is an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi who was convicted of child sexual abuse.

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. [ [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=9306 "World Briefs"] , "The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles", September 20, 2002.]

Crimes

In 2000, an investigative series published in "The Jewish Week"cite news
first = Ronald
last = Smothers
title = Rabbi Convicted of Sexual Abuse Is Freed on Bail Pending Appeal
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00EFD9123AF931A25753C1A9649C8B63
publisher = The New York Times
date = October 12, 2002
accessdate = 2007-12-09] alleged that Lanner had physically and sexually abused young people. Lanner resigned the day after it was published. ["Youth groups react to sex-abuse reports" Herwald, Margi. The Cleveland Jewish News. Cleveland, Ohio: Jun 30, 2000. Vol. 76, Iss. 14; pg. 17] The story, "Stolen Innocence", later won an award for "meritorious journalism". [ [http://www.beliefnet.com/author/author_145.html Beliefnet.com ] ]

An investigation was conducted by the Orthodox Union (OU). The investigating committee, headed by Hillel President Richard Joel, spent over $1 million interviewing more than 140 people and issued a 330-page report detailing the abuse. ["Orthodox Union board to vote on report on sex molestation probe;" ELLI WOHLGELERNTER. "Jerusalem Post". Jerusalem: Dec 25, 2000. pg. 04] The report alleged that Lanner had physically and emotionally abused dozens of teenagers, including fondling girls and kneeing boys in the groin, and that the abuse had begun in 1970.Jacobs, Andrew. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E1D61038F934A15751C1A9669C8B63 "Orthodox Group Details Accusations That New Jersey Rabbi Abused Teenagers"] , "The New York Times", December 27, 2000. Accessed November 21, 2007.] 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. ["Top O.U. official resigns, but critics say it's not enough", Wiener, Julie. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. New York: Jan 24, 2001. pg. 8]

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. An appeals court dismissed one of the child endangerment charges in 2005. ["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] He was released on parole on January 10, 2008, and will remain on parole for four years. [Rosenblatt, Gary. [http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a1616/News/New_York.html "Lanner to be released from jail next week."] , "The Jewish Week", January 9, 2008. Accessed January 8, 2008]

Aftermath

A 2001 second report commissioned 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. [ [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=6318 "A Scandal’s Echo"] Julie Gruenbaum Fax, Religion Editor and Julie Wiener, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, "The Jewish Journal", January 5, 2001.] The case has been described as "well-publicized" and a "watershed in the way the Orthodox community addresses sexual abuse". [ [http://www.jewishtimes.com/scripts/edition.pl?now=5/25/1999&SubSectionID=31&ID=4615 "Rabbi Expelled Over Sex Abuse Claims"] , Chanan Tigay, Special to the "Baltimore Jewish Times", New York City, April 1, 2005.]

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. ["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] [ [http://media.www.yucommentator.com/media/storage/paper652/news/2003/03/06/News/Rabbi.Willig.Apology.Stirs.Campus-589918.shtml "Rabbi Willig Apology Stirs Campus"] , Avi Robinson, "The Commentator" (Yeshiva College student newspaper), March 6, 2003 ]

References