Baruch S. Lanner (born October 20, 1949)Offender Details
, accessed vi
"NJ Dept of Corrections - Offender Details"
. (Click on "accept"; on the next screen enter "Lanner" and "Baruch" and click on "submit"; on the next screen click on his "sbi number", which is 000652003C.), New Jersey Department of Corrections. Accessed January 17, 2008. is an American former Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

who was convicted of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

Career

Lanner was the principal of Hillel Yeshiva High School in Ocean Township, New Jersey and later the director of regions for the

Orthodox Union The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs f ...

's National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY).

Crimes

In 2000, an investigative series published in '' The Jewish Week'' alleged that Lanner had physically and sexually abused young kids for decades. Lanner resigned the day after it was published. The story, "Stolen Innocence," later won an award for "meritorious journalism." An investigation was conducted by the

(OU). The investigating committee, headed by then- Hillel President Richard Joel, spent over $1 million interviewing more than 140 people and issued a 330-page report detailing the abuse. The report alleged that Lanner had physically, sexually and emotionally abused dozens of teenagers, including fondling girls and kneeing boys in the groin, and that the abuse had begun in 1970.Jacobs, Andrew
"Orthodox Group Details Accusations That New Jersey Rabbi Abused Teenagers"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', December 27, 2000. Accessed November 21, 2007. As a result of the report, the executive vice president of the OU, Rabbi Raphael Butler, resigned. He had been criticized for failing to act on earlier complaints. Lanner was convicted in 2002 of sexually abusing two teenage girls who attended the religious school where he had been principal, and sentenced to seven years in prison. An appeals court dismissed one of the child endangerment charges in 2005. He was released on parole on January 10, 2008, and was given parole for four years.

Aftermath

A second report commissioned in 2001 by the OU found that the abuse had been overlooked for decades, despite multiple complaints, and that "profound errors of judgment" had been made, including failures of management. The case has been described as "well-publicized" and a "watershed in the way the Orthodox community addresses sexual abuse". In 2003, the members of the Beth Din that had investigated Lanner in 1989, Rabbis Mordechai Willig, Yosef Blau, and Aaron Levine, apologized to the victims for not acting to stop the abuse. Blau was singled out by Willig for counseling victims over the years.

Move to Israel

In June 2022, Lanner flew to Israel under the guise of tourism and requested Israeli citizenship under the

Law of Return The Law of Return (, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to Aliyah, relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli nationality law, Isra ...

. The Israeli government awarded Lanner temporary legal residency. On July 19, 2022, Minister Ayelet Shaked announced that Israel would not be offering citizenship to Lanner in light of his convictions in the US. He remains in Israel under a temporary visa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanner, Baruch 1949 births Living people 20th-century American criminals 21st-century American criminals American Modern Orthodox rabbis American people convicted of child sexual abuse American Zionists Criminals from New Jersey Child sexual abuse scandals in Judaism Members of the clergy convicted of rape People from Elizabeth, New Jersey Rabbis convicted of crimes Religious figures convicted of child sexual abuse American members of the clergy convicted of crimes 20th-century American rabbis Incidents of violence against boys 21st-century American rabbis Prisoners and detainees of New Jersey