NEW YORK (JTA) — Yosef Kolko, a former Jewish educator from New
Jersey, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault.
Kolko, who was sentenced late
Thursday in Ocean County Superior Court in New Jersey, pleaded guilty in May to
multiple sexual crimes. A former counselor at an Orthodox summer camp, Kolko
admitted to performing oral sex and attempting anal intercourse with a 12-year
old boy.
Kolko repeatedly tried to
withdraw his guilty plea, claiming that members of the Lakewood, N.J., Jewish
community had pressured him into pleading guilty in order to avoid the
spectacle of a trial.
Testimony from the victim, now
16, was crucial in the outcome of the case, the Associated Press reported.
According to prosecutors, the victim’s family was ostracized by the Lakewood
community for bringing the case to state authorities because they feared
religious authorities were not handling the issue appropriately.
‘My message to those monsters out
there who are abusing: You will be exposed, you will be put behind bars, and
you will go through hell on earth,” the unnamed victim told the court.
“Molesting may seem harmless to you, but the reality is that it kills people
with every touch.’’
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