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Australia Seeks Extradition of Molester

David Kramer Image by missouri department of corrections

By Paul Berger April 2, 2012

Australia reportedly plans to seek the extradition of an imprisoned former Jewish studies teacher to face charges of child abuse dating back nearly 20 years.

David Kramer, 51, is currently in a Missouri jail after being convicted of sodomizing a 12-year-old boy in 2008. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but is about to become eligible for parole.

David Kramer Image by missouri department of corrections

Detective Senior Constable Lisa Metcher told a Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 2 that Australian detectives will travel to America later this month to begin proceedings to extradite Kramer, according to The Age. A spokesman for the United States Department of Justice declined to comment.

As the Forward reported earlier this year, Kramer is one of several men formerly associated with Melbourne’s Yeshivah Centre, a Chabad institution, at the center of alleged sex abuse coverup allegations.

Kramer eventually found his way to St Louis, Mo., where he became a volunteer youth leader at Nusach Hari B’nai Zion, an Orthodox synagogue.

The synagogue’s rabbi Ze’ev Smason reported Kramer to authorities after parents came to him with allegations of abuse.

Contact Paul Berger at berger@forward.com or on Twitter @pdberger

Paul Berger was a staff writer at the Forward from 2011-2016, covering crime and healthcare issues, such as sex abuse, circumcision, and fraud. He is a fluent Russian speaker and has reported from Russia and Ukraine. He also likes digging into historical mysteries.

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