The RBS case progresses

This is not a frum problem. This is not a Haredi problem. This is not a Jewish problem. This is simply a human problem.
In every society there are people who have all sorts of problems, some of them including sicknesses and inclinations that prod them to molest children, or other inclinations. Some people with such inclinations control those urges successfully and function normally, and some do not. It happens in every community, in every society, in every country. It is not a frum or haredi problem.

As well, in every society there is also the tendency to not act on information that brings these cases to attention. Not just in the frum community, but you can see examples of this throughout the world - the cases of an alleged molester being immediately dealt with are much more rare than the cases where he retained his employment.

Perhaps the employers are reluctant to believe the accusations. Perhaps in some cases they have external pressures and reasons why it is difficult for them to remove the alleged molester. perhaps in some cases they really do not believe it with good reason. Perhaps they have seen enough cases where the accusation was baseless and brought out for other reasons and not really truthful.

Nobody wants to protect a child molester, and nobody is doing what they do because they think he is molesting kids on their watch and they are ok with that. I really think the school that does not remove such a teacher is not doing it because they are willing to take the risk, but because they really do not believe the accusation to be true. Believing it to be true means they made a bad, a very bad, decision in the first place. That is something that is not easy to own up to and face.

The new revelations in the case are a natural progression of events. The police have given a tzav harchaka, or a restraining order against the teacher. There seems to have been a technical glitch, and they issued it only against his teaching in the old school that no longer exists. I am told they are correcting that.

On the one hand, this is a natural progression of the investigation. He was finally questioned, which was also a natural progression of events, not really a breakthrough in the case, and this is a result of the questioning. The restraining order is a breakthrough because it means the police have "concluded" from the round of questioning that the claims have basis and are not just mistaken or a misunderstanding or false accusation.

Obviously they still need to finish the investigation and get conclusive proof, and that is usually not easy or a slam dunk in these cases. More often then not, these cases are closed with not enough proof. Does that mean the alleged offender did not do it? No. It is like saying if a tree fell in a forest and nobody was there to see it, it did not happen. Or if you stole a diamond ring from someones bedroom, but they have not pinned it on you and proven their case, does that mean you did not do it? No. But if the case fails to be proven, as happens more often than not, he will be allowed back to teach and be presumed innocent. That is the way the system works. At other times innocence is proven and then he is rightfully allowed back in, but usually it is the lack of proof of guilt, and not the proof of innocence.

The police have confirmed that there have been 3 solid complaints from children (there were others that were "withdrawn"). The police feel that there is something strong here. The problem is that in court the testimony of 7 year olds doesn't always hold water. All of the complainants have been informed and the police have asked to publicize this.

They have made public the order so that:
1) he is kept away from children that might have been his victims
2) to encourage other kids to come forward (knowing now that it is a solid case)
3) keep the kids safe as long as possible..because the school is a private school there is no Misrad Chinuch jurisdiction, they are limited in what they can do to keep him away from the classroom, and the tzav harchaka is basically there only option right now.

So, again, this is not a haredi or a frum problem. It happens all over and there are sick people in every society and community. Yet we, the frum community, purport to be of a higher moral caliber than others. We claim to be living the correct and more moral way. Being the am segulah and being the part of the nation that considers itself the elite does not just allow us to hold our noses high and look down on the other communities. It also gives us an obligation. It also means we have to hold ourselves to higher standards.

So yes it might, it does, happen in other places as well. But we have to deal with it differently. We are not like them. We do not consider ourselves like them regarding anything else, and we cannot therefore allow ourselves to react like them now either.