New Jersey Rabbi Charged With Sexual Assault Of 12-Year-Old Boy

By JTA May 2, 2017

A Jewish teacher and youth group director is being held in central New Jersey for the alleged sexual assault of a 12-year-old boy.

Rabbi Menachem Chinn was arrested April 18 and charged with assaulting the boy at the teacher’s home in Marlboro in 2012. A judge ordered that Chinn remain in custody following an April 26 detention hearing held in Mercer County Superior Court.

Chinn is a teacher at Shalom Torah Academy in Morganville, New Jersey, and director of the Twin Rivers chapter of the National Council of Synagogue Youth, the New Jersey Jewish News reported.

Chinn is charged with one count each of sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

NCSY, the youth movement affiliated with the Orthodox Union, immediately placed Chinn on leave pending the results of the investigation, NJJN reported. In a statement, NCSY wrote that it was “shocked” to learn of the arrest.

“The safety and well-being of NCSY participants is the organization’s utmost priority at all times,” according to the statement.

Parents of youth group members were notified of his arrest, an OU spokesperson told NJJN, and an interim adviser was to be appointed in his place.

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