Brooklyn Rabbi Samuel Waldman Hit With Child Pornography Charge
A Brooklyn rabbi was charged with downloading child pornography after federal agents caught him in a sting, authorities said.
Samuel 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.
“Samuel Waldman’s position of trust in the community, as both a rabbi and a teacher, makes his alleged distribution of child pornography all the more disturbing,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
Waldman is charged with one count of transporting or distributing child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Agents went to Waldman’s home in the Kensington section, where he admitted obtaining the films from sharing sites, agents said in court papers. The rabbi said he has watched child pornography for several years on his computer, the agents claimed.
One video depicted young girls performing oral sex on men and being raped, court papers revealed. Another showed a young boy masturbating for the camera while a third showed an adult fondling a prepubescent boy.
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 during this critical time.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.