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Brooklyn Cantor Leaves Rikers Early

Baruch Lebovits, who pleaded guilty to child molestation in May, served less than three months

by
Alexander Aciman
October 01, 2014

The 62-year old Brooklyn cantor, Baruch Lebovits, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to child molestation, was released on Monday, The Daily News Reports.

The Lebovits investigation went on for six years before he finally pleaded guilty. He was facing a maximum sentence of 32 years for child molestation after a victim came forward several years ago.

The sentence was overturned after allegations that one community member paid off witnesses; Lebovits was offered a 2-year sentence for a plea deal. The cantor had already served 13 months of the sentence that started July 9 of this year.

On Monday, Lebovits was released from Rikers for good behavior. There is concern in his community that Lebovits had abused many other children, one lawyer even noting that it was only “a matter of time until he abuses another child.” In 2008, Assemblyman Dov Hikind suggested that in his own investigation, discovered many such instances of sexual molestation in the Orthodox community.

Lebovits, who was released less than three months after his sentence started, will be home for Yom Kippur.

Alexander Aciman is a writer living in New York. His work has appeared in, among other publications, The New York Times, Vox, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic.