Prominent Rabbi Gets Seven Years For Abusing Girls
By Tom Davis, Staff Writer
Originally published at NorthJersey.com, October 5, 2002
FREEHOLD — A sobbing Baruch Lanner begged for forgiveness Friday as a state judge sentenced the nationally known rabbi to seven years in prison for sexual misconduct against a student and for other offenses.
The former principal of Hillel Yeshiva in Ocean Township, who admitted Friday to "spurts of impulsive behavior," also apologized to his family and colleagues, but not to his two female accusers. Both were teenage students in the early 1990s when the incidents occurred.
"I am a social outcast, shunned by everyone, and I teach no one," said the 52-year-old rabbi, a divorced father of three who has lived in Paramus and Fair Lawn. "In a very real sense, I brought this upon myself."
Lanner's attorneys, who asked for a four-year sentence, say they will appeal.
One of Lanner's accusers, who is now 21 and identified only as "M.C.," approached Lanner in Judge Paul Chaiet's courtroom in state Superior Court and told the rabbi, "You ruined my life."
During a two week trial in June, the woman said Lanner groped her in his office.
Her parents left the courtroom when she spoke Friday, saying later that they didn't want to "embarrass" her by listening.
Others in the packed audience gasped as sheriff's officers led the once dynamic rabbi away in handcuffs. The former leader of an Orthodox youth group, who had a national following, glanced at his elderly mother as she cried.
In June, a jury convicted Lanner on two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one for each female accuser. He was convicted on one count of aggravated and criminal sexual contact against one accuser, who is now 23. He also was found guilty of one count of harassment.
However, the jury of six men and six women acquitted Lanner of sexual misconduct charges relating to the 21-year-old accuser.
Sentencing guidelines called for five to 20 years in prison.
Chaiet said probation could have been sufficient because of Lanner's exemplary background and his lack of a criminal past.
However, he cited the guidelines in issuing the seven-year-sentence. "Jail is mandatory. The only question is how long,'' said the judge. "They [his accusers] have suffered as a result of Lanner's actions. The bottom line is, he deserves to go to jail."
The sentence will require Lanner, upon his release, to register with local authorities as required by Megan's Law.
The prosecution and the parents of M.C. believed the punishment was fair. Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Peter Boser did not offer a recommendation for sentencing, suggesting only that Lanner should pay for "taking advantage of his position as a religious leader to commit these crimes."
"I'm satisfied that my daughter was vindicated," said M.C.'s father, who said he was disappointed that Lanner did not apologize.
Before the sentencing, Nathan Dershowitz, a new member of Lanner's defense team, sought to reverse the verdict. Dershowitz, whose brother, Allan, worked many high-profile cases, asked for a new trial on the grounds that the verdicts were "inconsistent."
He argued that it didn't make sense to convict Lanner of endangering both accusers but assaulting only one. Chaiet rejected the argument.
Throughout the trial, Lanner's defense team challenged the credibility of the accusers, whose names Chaiet prohibited from being published.
Both had a history of academic and disciplinary problems at Hillel, as well as mental health problems, according to testimony from the school's teachers and administrators.
Lanner, who taught at The Frisch School in Paramus in the 1980s, resigned as director of regions for the National Conference of Synagogue Youth in 2000 after The Jewish Week of New York published accounts from more than 25 former students charging sexual, physical, and emotional abuse.
The criminal proceedings were closely followed by Orthodox parents, many of whom enrolled their children in the youth program.
Teaneck resident Murray Sragow, whose children participated in the programs, said many parents remain frustrated over what they see as the failure of the group's leadership to respond to earlier warning signals. And he asked for continued vigilance.
"If we allow ourselves to declare victory and go home happy because one man has been stopped, we will be making a terrible mistake,'' he wrote in an e-mail. "The goal must not be the removal of a dangerous man, but the removal of the philosophy that attracted and nurtured him.''
One former student, a man who said he was mistreated by the rabbi, said he welcomed the sentence.
"The satisfaction comes from justice being served,'' the man said in a telephone interview. "Somebody finally did the right thing. I feel an immense sense of pride and gratitude towards the two girls and their families for coming forward and taking this all the way.''
The trial came as reports of sexual misconduct involving priests have shaken the Catholic Church. Both sides in the Lanner case expressed confidence that the jurors were not prejudiced by national publicity.
