Conviction Jewish institutions and contexts Hasidic and Haredi communities Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, USA · 2014

United States: Camp Dora Golding counselor Chisdai Ben-Porath pleads guilty to molesting a camper

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

camp counselor, Camp Dora Golding (Orthodox Jewish summer camp)

Organization

Camp Dora Golding, Smithfield Township, Pennsylvania

Spiritual nexus

Ben-Porath, then 20, was a counselor at Camp Dora Golding, which serves Orthodox Jewish children largely from Rockland and Orange Counties, New York. He was recorded on video molesting campers in their bunks in July 2013; a related civil suit alleged the camp owner sought to conceal the abuse by giving Ben-Porath a bus ticket home to Canada rather than reporting it.

Pastoral or clerical authority
Institutional obedience or isolation

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2014-01-01 · guilty plea and sentence

Monroe County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania. Pleaded guilty to molestation of a 12-year-old camper; sentenced to 5 to 23 months in Monroe County jail, ordered to register as a sex offender and attend counseling.

Documented coercion mechanisms

counselor authority over young campers in a residential Orthodox camp
physical access to bunks at night
alleged camp cover-up (return bus ticket) that isolated the incident from parents and authorities

Primary record

Sources

local court reporting criminal disposition WFMZ, 'Former Monroe County camp counselor sentenced for molestation.': Reports the guilty plea, the 5-to-23-month Monroe County jail sentence, sex-offender registration and counseling order.
national jewish press court reporting corroboration and nexus The Times of Israel, 'Counselor at Orthodox camp faces molestation charges.': Identifies Camp Dora Golding as an Orthodox Jewish summer camp, the July 2013 video evidence, and Ben-Porath's counselor role.
legal trade press corroboration Church Law & Tax, 'Family Files Lawsuit Against Camp Counselor Alleging Sexual Abuse.': Reports the related civil suit alleging camp ownership concealed the abuse by sending Ben-Porath home rather than reporting it to authorities.

Related record

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