Australian Sex Suspect Appears in Court

By JTA May 8, 2012

An Orthodox Jewish man charged with sexually assaulting children at a Jewish school in Melbourne, Australia appeared in court.

David Cyprys, 44, who worked as a security guard and youth group counselor at Yeshivah College Orthodox boys’ school, was in Melbourne’s Magistrates Court Monday for a committal hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to go forward with a trial.

Cyprus has been charged with 53 counts of gross indecency of minors, indecent assault, rape and other misdemeanors involving 12 alleged victims, one of whom asked the magistrate to have his name published in the media. His request was declined Monday by magistrate Luisa Bazzani.

Cyprys was working at the school, which also houses the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Melbourne, at the time of the alleged offenses between 1984 and 1991.

The case is being heard in a closed court.

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