November 30, 2012

NEW YORK (JTA) — Four spectators at the trial of an ultra-Orthodox man accused of sexual abuse were arrested for taking photos of the accuser during her testimony.

Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, told the New York Times that court officers in the courtroom of State Supreme Court Judge John G. Ingram saw a man taking pictures of the 17-year-old accuser on his cell phone during Thursday’s proceedings. 

According to Schmetterer, Judge Ingram ordered the cell phones of all present confiscated, whereupon it was determined that one of the photographs had already been posted to social networking site Twitter.

Prosecutors identified the men as Joseph Fried, Yona Weisman, Abraham Zupnick and Lemon Juice. (The latter name was reported by numerous media outlets without additional explanation, save that he works for a bakery.)

Nechemya Weberman faces 88 counts of sexual misconduct for alleged sexual encounters between him and the female accuser, whose parents sent her for therapy sessions to the unlicensed therapist at the recommendation of the child’s school. The incidents allegedly took place while the accuser was between 12 and 15 years old.

In June, four men from the Satmar Hasidic community were arrested for allegedly offering the accuser $500,000 in an attempt to silence her.

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