Chicago Rabbi Convicted in Sukkot Sex Assault on 15-Year-Old Boy
Image by Chicago Police Department
A Chicago rabbi was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
Rabbi Aryeh “Larry” Dudovitz assaulted the boy when he was supposed to be counseling the teenager for questioning his Orthodox Jewish faith, Cook County Judge Evelyn Clay ruled Monday in the bench trial, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Dudovitz, 48, the married father of nine, had rejected a plea deal that called for five years in prison, and now faces up to 15 years in prison, according to the newspaper. He was ordered taken into custody until he turned over his passport, after which he would be released to electronic monitoring until sentencing.
The assault occurred at the victim’s home in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood during the Sukkot holiday in 2006. Criminal charges were brought against Dudovitz in 2013 after the teen sought counseling in the wake of the incident.
Dudovitz admitted to the abuse at a hearing organized by the Chicago Rabbinical Council, rabbis testified in court. The rabbis banned Dudovitz from being around minors, but he did not adhere to the guidelines, according to testimony, the newspaper reported.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
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. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
