That seems to be the attitude of the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn when it comes to sexual abuse of a child. Apparently there is a custom (mesirah) which prohibits them from turning in Jews to non-Jewish authorities like the police. And there is another custom contributing to this protection: chillul Hashem prohibits publicly airing allegations against other Jews.
A few examples of this shunning are given in the NY Times. In one, a mentally disabled teenager was abused. When his father complained to the police, his friends dropped him, his family was evicted and he got tons of abusive phone messages. In other cases kids were expelled from religious schools and synagogues.
The courtroom hearing one of these abuse cases was packed with so many rabbis, religious school principals and
community leaders in sympathy with the abuser that the judge lamented, “While the crimes the defendant stands convicted of are bad enough. What
is even more troubling to the court is a communal attitude that seems
to impose greater opprobrium on the victims than the perpetrator.”
There are some in the ultra-Orthodox community trying to change this situation. They have a ways to go.
How does this differ from the Catholic Church's handling of pedophile priests?
How does this differ from the Catholic Church's handling of pedophile priests?
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