Melbourne rabbi changes statement in child molestation case

SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — The former principal of a Jewish boys’ school in Melbourne changed his statement in court to say he was aware of child molestation charges involving a former school employee.

Rabbi Abraham Glick, who ran Yeshivah College between 1986 and 2007, told the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court Monday that he knew of allegations that David Cyprys, a former security guard at the Orthodox school, had molested children, The Age newspaper reported.

Cyprys is contesting 53 charges, including six counts of rape, allegedly committed between 1982 and 1991.

Under oath Glick, who still teaches at the school, said he wanted to change his witness statement, explaining that Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, the spiritual leader of the school and the head of Chabad-Lubavitch in Melbourne who died in 2008, had twice named individuals connected to the allegations.

Glick also admitted his witness statement was inaccurate in saying that he had no recollection of anyone complaining about Cyprys molesting children. In court he said he had no recollection of complaints while he was principal, but last year an alleged victim told him of an alleged act of molestation.

The case has rocked the tightly knit Orthodox community.