Taj Patterson and Others Added to LostMessiah’s Wall of Courage:
- Taj Patterson, a gay black man who was beaten by a Satmar gang in 2012;
- the teenage victim of Nechemya Weberman; and
- Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg, the Satmar activist who has encouraged victims of abuse to speak out.
We are adding the above three to our Wall of Courage. The names are related to one another by way of circumstance and timing. The connection between this sexually abused young Hasidic girl and Taj Patterson is Joseph “Yossele” Fried. In the case of the Weberman’s victim, Fried was accused of taking photos for the purposes of intimidation while she testified (for four days) against her abuser for years of physical abuse between 2007 and 2010 when she was just 12. The photos were then “tweeted” across the community. In the case of Taj Patterson, Fried was allegedly one of the Satmar gang members who assaulted him and allegedly took pictures of the assault as it was happening. Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg had bleach thrown in his face following Weberman’s conviction. It is noted that as a result of the courage of Weberman’s young victim, Weberman received a sentence of an unprecedented 103 years in prison.
Joseph Fried, celebrating after charges were dropped.
Taj Patterson’s story began when he was brutally assaulted in December of 2013 as he headed home from a night of partying in Williamsburg. In April of 2014, the Daily News reported that five men were arrested for a “gang assault against black gay Brooklyn man.” The men were Satmar. In 2013 the forward.com reported that the DA, Kenneth Thompson, allegedly has close ties to the Satmar community and in 2015 charges were dropped against two of the five men. On January 6, 2015, the New York Daily News reported that, “Advocates are furious he has taken thousands in campaign donations from bigwigs in the Satmar community, a Hasidic sect that strenuously opposes any secular oversight into sexual molestation accusations. The donations were first reported in The Jewish Week.”
What will happen to the other 3 gang members in the Taj Patterson case remains to be seen.
On December 19, 2015 FailedMessiah.com reported on the “Charges Dropped Against Second Hasid in Brutal Assault Against Gay Black Man”
Shmayra writes:
“One of the more than one dozen hasidim, most believed to be Shomrim members, who attacked Taj Patterson in 2013 has had the charges against him dropped more than two years after the gang assault took place in a case Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson, who has become very close to Satmar since his election in 2013, seems to be unwill to bring to trial.”
That post followed a post of April 24, 2014, entitled “Shomrim Meembers Allegedly Obstructed Justice in Taj Patterson Beating Case“.
Shmayra reported in the post:
“In the hours after the Taj Patterson beating, approximately 20 members of Williamsburg’s Shomrim street patrol allegedly went door to door over a 10 block radius from the site of the Taj Patterson beating to erase or destroy security camera footage that would implicate fellow Shomrim members and other hasidim in the beating.”
Charges against the first Hasidic gang-man, were dropped by Brooklyn DA Ken Thomson in March of 2014. This was reported by FailedMessiah in an article entitled, Charges Against Man Who Allegedly Intimidated Witness Against Satmar Child Sex Abuser Dropped.
Shmayra reported as follows:
“A contempt of court charge against well-connected Satmar activist Joseph “Yossele” Fried was dropped yesterday on the eve of Fried’s trial after the Brooklyn DA said its office “did a forensic review and determined there was insufficient evidence” to convict him – a claim some anti-abuse activists and victims question as confidence in the new Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson continues to fade.”
For the text of the articles, click on the title of each article.
The LostMessiah Wall of Courage:
Manny Waks, who has discussed his abuse countless times
Same Kellner, listened to his son, sent someone to jail and then in the spirit of retaliation was himself accused of bribary (charges which were dropped in 2014)
Chaim Levin, accused his cousin of abuse
Ozer Simon, repeatedly abused by Rabbi in Miami
Manny Vogel, repeatedly abused
Schneur Borenstein, abused and now speaks about the Child Victims Act (CVA)
Mendy Raymond, physically abused at Oholei Torah
All of the victims of Malka Leifer, those willing to speak and those who suffer in silence
“Leiby“, child accuser of Skverer Rabbi Moshe Menachem Taubenfeld of New Square whose case should have been a slam-dunk for conviction
Genendy Eisegrau , who was abused by her father for years and is now blogging about her experiences and her recovery
Rabbi Michael Malchior, who has spoken on abuse and created a network for its victims
Shulum Deen, who has written extensively about his harrowing experiences, whose writing has drawn attention to the plight of Skverer children, amongst others
Taj Patterson, a gay black man who was beaten by a Satmar gang in 2012
teenage victim (unnamed) of Nechemya Weberman, who testified for 4 days about her harrowing years of abuse
Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg, the Satmar activist who has encourages victims of abuse to speak out and has a BlogSpot site, dedicated to assisting victims
In loving memory:
Sarah Mayer (a/k/a Suri) z”l, 31 hanged herself
Faigy Mayer z“l, who jumped to her death after leaving community
Younger Brother of Mendy Alexander z”l, who committed suicide after years of abuse
Leiby Kletzky, z”l, murdered by Levi Aron, which murder was to have spurred greater protections for children
For a related article see:
FrumFollies article entitled:
Williamsburg Celebrates Again at Thompson’s Expense Over Fried Dismissal which begins as follows:
“Satmar was feeling cocky on Thursday (5/8/14) after the Brooklyn DA dropped contempt of court charges against Williamsburg Vaad Hatznius (modesty committee) operative, Joseph Fried. According to DA spokesperson Sheila Stainback’s reply to my inquiry, the DA dropped charges because of “insufficient evidence to prosecute.”
The charges date back to the trial of Nechemya Weberman in late 2012 when courtroom pictures of the testifying victim were circulated on Twitter. At the instruction of the judge, cell phones were collected and four young men were arrested. The unusually-named Lemon Juice was arrested because the Twitter account was in his name. I was sure he was innocent because he was a well-known supporter of the victim. As suspected, Lemon Juice was impersonated on Twitter from the IP address of Moses Klein, a driver to the Satmar Grand Rabbi of Williamsburg, Zalmen Leib Teitelbaum (aka Zaali). (Weberman, like Fried, started his rise to power as a driver to the Satmar Rebbe, Zaali’s father, Moshe Teitelbaum.)”
For the rest of the article click here:
LOSTMESSIAH 