20+ Groups Demand Convicted Child Rapist Weberman Stay in Prison Despite DA's Push for Freedom

BROOKLYN, NY (12/19/2025) (readMedia)-- Today, a few days before a scheduled Tuesday re-sentencing hearing for convicted child rapist Nechemya Weberman, 28 individuals and groups including New York City Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Women's Equal Justice sent a letter to Judge D'Emic demanding the court not release Weberman early. Last month, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced his support for Weberman, a prominent figure in the ultra-Orthodox Satmar community, undermining justice for Rivky Deutsch and the years of documented harm she endured.

"Freeing Weberman will also have a chilling effect on survivors everywhere. The average age for a survivor of child sex abuse to disclose is 52 years old – if they decide to share at all. Many fear their community won't believe them, suffer from shame, and even dissociate as a coping mechanism. Weberman's initial conviction showed survivors in the ultra-orthodox community that what happened to them mattered," the twenty plus groups wrote to the Judge.

The letter, full text and signatories below and attached.

Earlier in the month attorneys for Rivky Deutsch - whom Weberman raped and abused for years, beginning when she was only 12 - submitted a brief opposing his bid for early release. Read the full brief here. Advocates from the Jewish community held a press conference demanding DA Eric Gonzalez reverse his decision to vacate Weberman's sentence and stand with survivors of abuse. Christian N. Martinez, Esq, Counsel for Amicus Curiae filed an amicus brief on ZA'AKAH and others, urging the court to deny his re-sentencing (attached).

FULL TEXT:

December 17, 2025

Judge Matthew D'Emic

Kings County Supreme Court

320 Jay Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

Dear Judge D'Emic,

We are writing today as survivors, advocates from the Orthodox Jewish community, as well as secular victims services organizations across New York City, with one incredibly important timely ask: do not vacate the sentencing of Nechemya Weberman and do not resentence him to time served. Weberman is currently serving a 50-year sentence for repeately raping a child, and others.

Weberman is a threat to the Jewish community, where he will return if freed. He will be welcomed with open arms. He has not lost any friends or family because of his actions. In fact, he is emboldened. Since his conviction the community has continued to raise money for him, hold him forth as a falsely accused martyr, compare him to the biblical figure Joseph who was falsely accused of raping the wife of an egyptian noble in the book of genesis, and repeatedly publishing articles and interviews in support of Weberman in community publications.

He will continue to be an unlicensed therapist and see underaged patients whom he may rape. He has shown no remorse for his actions during his decade plus in prison. In fact, many in the Satmar community – a community of ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jews living mainly in Monroe and Williamsburg – have destroyed his victim's life both during and after the trial They called her names, including the Grand Rebbe of Satmar in Monroe, Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum, who called the victim a whore in an address to the community during the trial. They even raised $500,000 to try to bribe her to leave the country without testifying, threatening her livelihood so much she left her home. We are positive if Weberman is freed these cruel tactics and victim blaming will start again. And that if he has any future victims they will face the same retaliation that this victim faced.

Freeing Weberman will also have a chilling effect on survivors everywhere. The average age for a survivor of child sex abuse to disclose is 52 years old – if they decide to share at all. Many fear their community won't believe them, suffer from shame, and even dissociate as a coping mechanism. Weberman's initial conviction showed survivors in the ultra-orthodox community that what happened to them mattered. The abuse they felt was real. It happened. If Weberman is released, the message survivors will receive from the district attorney, and from this court, is that they should stay silent. And worse: it would signal to abusers that it's ok to continue their decades of abuse because even if they are caught – and well-connected – the DA will take up their cause, and they won't be held accountable.

We hope you'll consider our plea and keep Weberman behind bars. He is a risk to the community and survivors everywhere. This isn't a political decision. This is a moral one. Stand with survivors.

Thank you,

Asher Lovy - Director, ZA'AKAH

Model Alliance

Emily Miles - Executive Director, New York City Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Jane Manning - Director, Women's Equal Justice

Joan Gerhardt - Director of Public Policy & Advocacy, New York State Coalition Against

Domestic Violence

Sue Ellen Dodell Minister Peace - Executive Director, Community for a Cause

Nechama Masliansky - former Board Member, Support for Orthodox Victims of Rape and Incest; Former Director, National Center on Women & Family Law

Taina Bien-Aime? - Coalition Against Trafficking in Women

Zachary Mallory - Rise Above Justice Movement

Judith Minko-Grey

Danielle Amodeo - Justice Without Exclusion Coalition Mary Haviland - Consultant

Judy Kluger - CEO, Sanctuary for Families

Chi????on Abney - Founder, Herunivercity Inc.

Rachel Foster - Co-Founder and Executive Council Chair, World Without Exploitation

Rebecca Zipkin - Policy Director, World Without Exploitation

Lauren Hersh - National Director, World Without Exploitation

Julie Marcus

Rahel Bayar - Founder, The Bayar Group and Former Sex Crimes ADA

Bronx DA Lizzie Asher - Co-Founder, Justice Without Exclusion Coalition

Nyrie Smith - Client Advocate, Brooklyn YAS Coalition

Ilse Knecht - Director of Policy and Advocacy, Joyful Heart Foundation

Sara Rosenberg - Director, Jewish Survivors United

Shana Aaronson - Director, Magen for Jewish Communities

Lynn Frederick Hawley – Executive Director, Mount Sinai SAVI Program

Helen Rosenthal - (former) NYC councilmember and Chair of the Committee of Women and Gender Equity (2014-2021)

Immani A Williamson – Survivor and Advocate

Background:

In 2013, then-Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes won a conviction against Weberman, with a judge sentencing him to 103 years, which was later reduced to 50 years. A few years after his sentencing in 2021, DA Gonzalez asked then-Governor Cuomo to commute Weberman's sentence. Cuomo ultimately didn't do it. Now, Weberman's team has filed a motion to vacate the sentence and reinstate it to time served with a commitment from DA Gonzalez that he would support the motion. If successful, Weberman would be free immediately.

After Weberman's conviction in 2013 and during the trial, members of the Satmar community (an ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jews who live primarily in Monroe and Williamsburg) intimidated the victim and her family, including public disparagement, held a fundraiser that raised over $500,000 to support Weberman and attempted to bribe the victim.

Releasing Weberman early would endanger children and women, signaling to abusers that powerful allies can shield them from accountability. 1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. Children with disabilities are 2.9 times more likely than children without disabilities to be sexually abused. Survivors of child sex abuse are more likely to suffer from PTSD, depression and anxiety. Survivors may also face retaliation from institutions and community members, leading them to stay quiet and not come forward.