Porn Bust: Federal prosectuor Preet Bharara announces arrest of rabbi and Boy Scout leader as part of a child pornography sting. Image by getty images

A Jewish Boy Scout leader from Long Island, a Brooklyn rabbi and a police officer were among some 71 people arrested in the New York City-area, in one of the largest roundups of those who share child pornography online, a federal official said Wednesday.

Jonathan Silber, a Boy Scout den leader and Little League baseball coach, was arrested on May 9 at his residence in Suffern and charged under New York state law with possession of child pornography.

The new arrests was part of the same probe that led to the March arrest of Rabbi Samuel Waldman, a teacher at a Jewish school, at his home in Brooklyn in March.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Waldman, 52, a teacher at a Jewish girls seminary, faces a possible five years in prison after he admitted downloading at least three short films depicting young boys and girls engaging in sex acts.

Those arrested face charges of sharing and distributing child pornography through peer-to-peer file networks, which allow massive numbers of images, documents and videos to be traded online, said a federal agent who declined to be named ahead of an official announcement later on Wednesday.

The dozens arrested were from all walks of life and included a paramedic and a nurse, the official said.

Federal agents have collected more than 600 computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices and were combing through their content.

The arrests follow a month-long investigation led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations with cooperation of local law enforcement and are one of the largest child pornography operations of its kind, the official said.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 22.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount