Celebrated Haredi author accused of abuse dead by suicide — reports

Chaim Walder, a popular ultra-Orthodox  children’s author accused of sexually abusing teenage girls, has been identified as the man found dead in a Petah Tikva cemetery.

Police say a victim was found in the cemetery just before 1 p.m. with gunshot wounds.

According to initial reports, Walder died by suicide. He has apparently been missing since Sunday.

Walder, 52, was accused last month by three girls who said he had sexually abused them.

On Sunday, a Safed rabbinical court heard 22 testimonies from people alleging abuse at Walder’s hands against girls who had come to him for treatment over the years, considerably expanding upon the allegations already against him.

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