Former leader of Brooklyn crime-control group pleads guilty to sexually abusing teenage girl
Jul 15, 2023, 2:12 PM
NEW YORK (AP) — The former leader of a safety patrol in Brooklyn’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community pleaded guilty Friday to charges he sexually abused a teenage girl.
The plea allows Jacob Daskal, who led a neighborhood watch group called a shomrim, to avoid a trial in a case that alleged he groomed a 15-year-old girl for sex.
As part of the plea agreement, Daskal must register as a sex offender, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn.
Authorities said Daskal subjected to the girl to sexual acts over a three-month period in 2017. He was arrested in 2018.
“The defendant has admitted he abused his power, trust and position in the community by committing deplorable acts against a child in his care,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.
Daskal faces a minimum prison sentence of 14 years.
Daskal headed the Boro Park Shomrim Society, an Orthodox Jewish crime-patrol group associated with the New York Police Department.
