***David Shimonov Pleads Guilty in Sexual Assault Case*** Earlier today, Lakewood resident, David Shimonov, pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct. During his allocution he admitted to vaginally penetrating his victim without consent. Shimonov's victim was a minor at the time of the incident. Shimonov's engagement was announced in November. It's unclear if his kallah knows or cares that he's not a convicted sexual abuser. Shimonov's plea was conditional on his compliance with a year of sex offender treatment. If he complies with that treatment and refrains from violating the order of protection against him for a year, his plea will instead be changed to second degree harassment, a violation, not a criminal offense, and he will be subject to a two year order of protection. He will not be subject to sex offender registration.

***Brooklyn Mashgiach, Elie Kaplin, Charged with Sexually Abusing Teenager*** Elie Kaplin is a resident of Brooklyn who lives around Avenue L and Bedford. According to his LinkedIn page he is a mashgiach who works for Mehadrin Kosher in Brooklyn. In November of 2025, according to a criminal complaint filed in Brooklyn, Kaplin touched a child's buttocks over her clothing, and her vagina under her clothing, and then stuck his finger inside the child's vagina. Two days later, according to the complaint, at the child's home, Kaplin touched the buttocks of the child over her clothing. Kaplin has been charged with sexual abuse in the third degree, forcible touching, and child endangerment. Kaplin is out on $20,000 bail.

***Lakewood Rosh Kollel, Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Appel, Sued for Sexual Assault, Defamation by Plaintiff Claiming He Raped Her and Instigated a Coordinated Campaign to Publicly Defame Her*** According to a complaint filed in Ocean County Civil Court, Plaintiff, an immigrant and single mother of two, was in significant financial distress. In early 2020, according to the complaint, Plaintiff shared with her child’s teacher that she was having trouble paying for child care, and the teacher suggested she reach out to Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Appel, a trusted rabbi and pillar of the community who ran several charities and often counseled women in similar circumstances as well as being the Rosh Kollel at Cheshek Shlomo, which he owned. In February of 2020, according to the complaint, Appel and Plaintiff met at a local Starbucks and Appel presented himself as a rabbi, mentor, advisor, and friend that Plaintiff could trust, confide in, and depend on. He also, according to the complaint, offered Plaintiff, who had significant experience in real estate, the opportunity to solicit investments on behalf of his real estate business and its development projects, structuring her compensation as an advance against future commissions. The complaint alleges that between June and July of 2022 Appel issued six separate payments to Plaintiff characterized as advances against future commissions totaling $20,000. Plaintiff alleges that despite these payments being characterized as loans or advances Appel never requested that the funds be returned. During the same period, the complaint alleges, Appel also provided Plaintiff with financial assistance to pay for groceries and other necessities. In June of 2022, according to the complaint, Appel came to Plaintiff’s home when he knew her husband was hospitalized and her children were in school, forced himself on Plaintiff and sexually penetrated her, despite Plaintiff’s clear and persistent cries that he stop. According to the complaint, the more Plaintiff pled for mercy the more aggressive Appel became. Before he left, the complaint alleges, Appel insisted that Plaintiff erase the Ring footage Plaintiff had of him entering her home, and supervised her as she did so. In the months that followed, the complaint alleges, Appel forced himself upon Plaintiff and took sexual advantage of her on multiple occasions, as well as bombarding her with demands for sexual acts, and a steady barrage of texts containing crude and graphic sexual content. For example, according to the complaint, Appel sent Plaintiff a picture of himself along with messages saying he wanted to squeeze her breasts, lick her vagina dry, and others, along with a picture of his penis followed by comments about sucking it. Pictures of the aforementioned were attached as exhibits to the complaint. The complaint alleges that Appel threatened and intimidated Plaintiff to be quiet about the abuse, repeatedly threatening her that an inmate who had taken the fall for Appel in connection with another matter would “take care of” Plaintiff if she disclosed any details regarding Appel’s sexual abuse and other conduct. Appel also allegedly told Plaintiff that he would have her exiled from the community if she chose to speak to anyone about the sexual assault. Appel also allegedly insisted that Plaintiff use a therapist he recommended and also scripted with her exactly what she should say to the therapist to get the help she needed to address the trauma he’d caused without revealing what had actually happened. In July of 2024, according to the complaint, Plaintiff met with Rabbi Yosef Rabinovitch and shared with him evidence of the alleged sexual assault and other incidents. The complaint alleges that convinced by the evidence that something must be done to address the situation and the danger Appel posed to the community, Rabbi Yosef Rabinovitch summoned the help of other rabbis and together arranged an intervention with Appel. At that meeting, according to the complaint, Appel admitted that he had done terrible things to Plaintiff and that he had a problem. The complaint alleges that Plaintiff is not the only victim of Appel’s sexual acts and misconduct. In response, the complaint alleges, the rabbis directed, among other things, that Appel step down as a rabbi and from all other positions of trust. In late 2024, the complaint alleges, Appel requested that Plaintiff and her husband meet with his attorney to discuss a resolution. At that meeting, according to the complaint, Appel’s lawyer advised Plaintiff that he was willing to make a lump sum payment of $50,000 to Plaintiff to cover her future therapy expenses if she and her husband agreed to release him from any claims related to the alleged sexual assault and keep all incidents between them confidential. The complaint states that Plaintiff and her husband rejected the proposal. According to the complaint, when Plaintiff and her husband learned in November of 2025 that Appel continued to serve as a rabbi and hold positions of trust, Plaintiff’s husband went to Appel’s Kollel on several occasions to confront him, but Appel wasn’t present. The complaint alleges that later that month when Plaintiff’s husband went to the school he was confronted by Rabbi Rabinovich (not Rabbi Yosef Rabinovitch), one of the administrators of the Kollel, who advised Plaintiff’s husband that Appel now had a new Rabbi, Rabbi Henoch Pearl, who had permitted Appel to start teaching again. In response, according to the complaint, Plaintiff’s husband told Rabbi Rabinovich that he was going to continue coming to the school until he had the chance to talk to Appel, and that his wife was going to pursue a case in civil court. The complaint alleges that when Plaintiff’s husband returned a few days later there was security present, and Rabbi Rabinovich told him to leave or the police would be called. A few days later, the complaint alleges, Plaintiff’s husband received a letter from a lawyer warning him to stay away from the premises of Appel’s home, Kollel, and other businesses and organizations. According to the complaint, soon after learning that Plaintiff intended to pursue her claims in civil court, Appel, Robert Keleti, and Chana Rosenzweig launched a campaign to destroy Plaintiff personally and professionally and vindicate Appel publicly. The complaint alleges that Plaintiff’s ex husband acknowledged in a text message to Plaintiff’s close friend sent before the campaign began that Appel had reached out to Plaintiff’s ex husband to enlist his assistance in his plan to take down Plaintiff. In the same text exchange, according to the complaint, Plaintiff’s ex husband acknowledged that Rosenzweig had also contacted him during the same period and asked for similar help. Plaintiff first learned, according to the complaint, in December of 2025 that the three of them had created a website with Plaintiff’s name as the URL in which the public was warned to beware of Plaintiff and that she was a danger to Klal Yisroel. The website, which was produced in full as an exhibit to the suit and was still live at the time of this post, alleges that Plaintiff stole funds raised for a couple whose wedding she hosted at her house. In fact, the complaint alleges, according to an affidavit provided by the couple, that Plaintiff attempted to raise $10,000 for the wedding, only managed to raise $2,000, and paid the remaining $8,000 out of pocket. The website further alleges, according to the complaint, that Plaintiff blackmailed and extorted Appel based on a distorted account of relevant events between the two of them purportedly by a relative of Appel, and alleges that Plaintiff’s husband sent Appel a text message threatening that he and his wife were going to break the silence if Appel didn’t pay them $48,000 and purports to include a screenshot of the texts. The complaint states that as set forth in a statement by Plaintiff, she did receive funds from Appel but those funds were always understood by her to be an advance against future commissions, or gifts to help her and her children with their financial needs. In an affidavit filed as an exhibit to the complaint, Plaintiff’s husband contends that he never sent the text depicted on the website or any other message to that effect, and that they were manufactured. The website also claimed, according to the complaint, that Plaintiff had told a rabbi that she had evidence of Appel’s reprehensible conduct but refused to turn over her phone for a forensic examination. In fact, the complaint alleges, Plaintiff met with this rabbi after she learned of the website and he confirmed that he had never spoken with Plaintiff or her husband, much less requested that she turn her phone over for forensic screening. There were further allegations on the website, according to the complaint, of blackmail, extortion, stealing from Appel under the guide of threatening suicide, asking for money under false pretenses, like her son’s Bar Mitzvah, and then threatening to use the record of payment as evidence of payment for “services” and threatening to publicize that information unless she was paid more. Plaintiff, according to the complaint, unequivocally confirms in her affidavit that she never engaged in any such conduct. The website further accuses Plaintiiff, according to the complaint, that Plaintiff enjoys having affairs with married men, has had countless married boyfriends in numerous places at the same time, hosts parties involving drugs and dancing between married and non married people, that she married her ex husband just to get a green card, that Plaintiff failed to keep Kosher, and that she had a revolving door of male visitors at her home. The website, according to the complaint, also disclosed Plaintiff’s address for the alleged purpose of inviting community members to further harass Plaintiff and her family. Keleti, according to the complaint, took it upon himself to spread the message in other ways, posting a link to the website on his Facebook, and posting signs smearing Plaintiff throughout the community including Plaintiff’s children’s school, and similar materials on cars and mailboxes in the area. Keleti, according to the complaint, is Chaya Rosenzweig’s father. Rosenzweig, according to the complaint, is a licensed real estate professional and the founder and owner of Rose Capital Group, a business that markets commercial real estate investment opportunities in Ocean County and other parts of the region to Israeli investors. Rosenzweig, according to the complaint, competes directly with Plaintiff in the solicitation of investments from Israeli investors in this very niche market, with a material overlap between Plaintiff’s and Rosenzweig’s respective networks of investors. The complaint alleges that Rosenzweig’s animus to Plaintiff is driven by more than simple business competition, and that some of Rosenzweig’s investors had reached out to Plaintiff and expressed concerns regarding their investments with Rosenzweig. Plaintiff, according to the complaint, researched publicly available information about those investments and identified what appeared to be cause for concern. Rosenzweig is concerned, the complaint alleges, that like Plaintiff her investors are prepared to pursue claims against Rosenzweig in civil court and, like Appel, is using the website and the overall smear campaign to discredit any information Plaintiff provided to them. Plaintiff alleges that Appel’s conduct and defamatory campaign with Keleti and Rosenzweig has destroyed her business, exacerbated her mental health, and compounded the trauma of the sexual assault. Link to full complaint: 1drv.ms/b/c/4d571c0f42787270…

***Update on Judah Karkowsky: After Denial of His Appeal, Karkowsky Seeks Leave to Appeal to New York Court of Appeals, House Arrest Continued*** After his appeal was denied, Karkowsky sought leave from the Court of Appeals to further appeal his judgment and sentence. Karkowsky was convicted on charges related to his use of a forged transcript of the hearing dismissing the sexual abuse allegations against him to try and con his way back into the Young Israel of Woodmere and threaten various Woodmere public entities with lawsuits. He was convicted for the use of a forged instrument in a jury trial and was sentenced to a year in jail. The lower appellate court had allowed him out on house arrest while his appeal was pending, and the Court of Appeals is allowing him to stay out on house arrest until they decide whether or not to allow him to appeal.

***Kiryas Joel Resident, Cheskel Stauber, Charged with Sexual Abuse of Child*** According to a complaint filed in the Town of Palm Tree Justice Court, Cheskel Stauber on multiple occasions in 2025 took the child's hand placed it down his pants to have the child touch his penis. The complaint further alleges that Stauber would also place his own hand under the clothing of the child and squeeze or grab his penis. A statement attached to the complaint by a relative of the victim, Stauber was summoned to a Beis Din in Kiryas Joel by the child's father. Following the summons, the complaint alleges, Stauber called the child's father and left a voicemail in which he was crying, saying he knew what the issue was that led to the summons, asking for mercy, alluding to what it was about, and saying that he wants to stop but that when it comes to that child the devil is stronger than him. Stauber has been charged with Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, Forcible Touching, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Stauber may be davening at the V'yoel Moshe Shul on Garfield Road in KJ.

If released, Weberman will continue to abuse children in the community, and Gonzalez will be responsible for each additional victim.

@ZAAKAHNY calls on @GovKathyHochul to rule our @BrooklynDA Eric Gonzalez as Lieutenant Governor for his public support of convicted sex offender, Nechemya Weberman. Gonzalez wants community support for his candidacy, and as long as he thinks he has a chance he'll support Weberman's release.

***Rabbi Eliyahu Haimof, Rabbi of Kehal Lemaan Achai in Boro Park, Accused of Sexually Abusing of Child in Lawsuit Against Bais Yaakov*** According to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn, when Plaintiff was approximately 4 years old began abusing her. The complaint alleges that Haimof (named in the suit as Aleksi Khaimov) fondled Plaintiff's genitalia, digitally penetrating her at least twice. The complaint further alleges that Haimof repeatedly beat and threw objects at the alleged victim. The complaint alleges that at the time Plaintiff was attending Bais Yaakov of 18th Avenue in Boro Park. Plaintiff, according to the complaint, reported to a principal named Mrs. Rabinowitz that Haimof had beaten and screamed at her. Plaintiff also allegedly reported to another principal at the school, Mrs. Sara Zeinba, that Haimof had beaten her up. Plaintiff also alleges that she reported the same to another school administrator. Plaintiff, according to the complaint, also showed up to school regularly with visible bruises that were seen by staff and administrators. At no point, according to the complaint, did any of them report it to law enforcement. Haimof is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit but was named as the alleged abuser in a filing.

***Cincinnati Resident, David Mitsnefes, Arrested for Repeatedly Placing Hidden Cameras in Local Family's Children's Bedrooms, Held Without Bail*** In September of 2021, a Cincinnati family reported to the police that they had found a hidden camera in one of their bedrooms. The camera, according to the complaint, was small, plugged into a power outlet on the wall, and left on the floor pointing toward a mirror that reflected the bed area of the room. In June of 2022, according to the complaint, the family found another camera hidden in the same spot. The complaint states that it was found in the same spot by a child who was about to undress. Both times, the complaint alleges, there was no SD card in the camera, and no information could be obtained from the camera. The complaint alleges that more cameras were found in the house, including one that appeared to be a black wall plug for a USB charger but was actually a recording device that contained an SD card. More cameras were found after a search was conducted, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that when the SD card was searched it contained video of the person who planted the cameras setting it up. Another camera was found, according to the complaint, in April of 2023. After finding an SD card, according to the complaint, the police reached out to the FBI for assistance in reading the files on it. The files, according to the complaint, contained video of someone changing their clothes. According to the complaint a suspect was identified from the video, but after a search warrant was executed no CSAM was found. In November of 2025, according to the complaint, the family called the Blue Ash police and informed them that in reviewing Ring video footage taken while they were out of town they'd observed an unknown male entering their residence through the front door using the door's lock code. Interior cameras, according to the complaint, showed that the suspect walked directly upstairs into the child's bedroom, stayed there for two minutes, then exited the house. The complaint states that nothing was reported stolen, but that they suspected it could have been connected to the voyeurism incident from a number of years before. According to the complaint, when asked if anything strange had happened around that time, the family informed the police that in August of 2025 they were meant to host a large party at their house, but that the family had to travel unexpectedly. The complaint alleges that the family had told their friends and shul members that they could use their house to have the party anyway. According to the complaint, David Mitsnefes, who lived nearby with his mother, came into the house after Shabbos using the code, walked upstairs to the bedroom, and stayed there for two minutes before leaving, the same period of time and pattern as the later November incident caught on the camera. The family, according to the complaint, initially assumed he had come in to turn off the lights after Shabbos, but when prompted by police realized that it would be unusual for someone other than family to walk around upstairs uninvited, and that they had never asked Mitsnefes to turn out the lights after Shabbos. They then stated, according to the complaint, that while less than 10 people knew the code to their door, Mitsnefes' mother was one of those people. Later that November the family advised law enforcement, according to the complaint, that Mitsnefes had a strong knowledge of technology and had repaired the family's internet in the past. They realized, the complaint alleged, that since Mitsnefes had worked on the internet he may have, in the past, connected to it, and they allowed law enforcement to check if any devices had connected to their network during the incident. The complaint alleges that a device possibly matching an iPhone owned by Mitsnefes was identified in the search. Law enforcement, according to the complaint, surveilled Mitsnefes later that month and observed him with a phone matching the description, and wearing similar shoes and a similar wristwatch to the person captured on the Ring camera seen entering the home. The following month, in December of 2025, according to the complaint, Mitsnefes came to the residence to talk to the family. After he left, according to the complaint, law enforcement compared the network connection logs during that visit to the network connection logs from the time of the break in and found that the new device that connected during the meeting matched the earlier device in the logs from the break in. During a search executed on Mitsnefes' residence, according to the complaint, Mitsnefes admitted to owning a number of security cameras he'd purchased from Amazon, admitted to viewing them remotely, and admitted to entering the residence without permission to place cameras in the bedroom starting in September 2021. According to the complaint, Mitsnefes admitted to entering the home a total of 10 times over the last 4 years, and admitted he'd placed the cameras and saved video of two minors in a state of nudity. Mitsnefes, according to the complaint, admitted that he'd connected the cameras to wifi to access them remotely and admitted to saving nude videos of the children to his iPhone, as well as to stealing underwear from the bedroom. Mitsnefes also allegedly admitted to possessing other CSAM including of minors likely under 5 years old. He allegedly provided the devices they were on for law enforcement. Mitsnefes was arrested at the end of December and was detained without bail. Link to full complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/re…

***Weberman Hearing Delayed Again, No New Date Set*** Nechemya Weberman's 440 motion hearing to vacate and resentence has again been delayed. No firm date has been set yet. This delay comes shortly after ZA'AKAH filed its amicus brief containing over 30 signatures and letters from nonprofits and advocates with the court opposing Weberman's release. Read the full brief here: 1drv.ms/b/c/4d571c0f42787270…