Earl Wilson / The New York Times

New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane

After the New York Times wrote a searing two-part series earlier this month detailing the problem of sexual abuse in Brooklyn's Hasidic and Ultra-Orthdox communities, we noted that some journalists and activists thought the paper should have acknowledged its debt to other journalists.

The Times wouldn't comment on the record on the subject, but Arthur Brisbane, the paper's public editor, told us he was conducting his own investigation into the issue. Yesterday, Brisbane published his conclusions.

Carolyn Ryan, the Times's Metro Editor, told Brisbane "We were never under any illusion that we were the first outlet to report on abuse in the community, nor did we claim to be."

More >>

The case of Nechemya Weberman, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man accused of sexually abusing a young woman, has not just spun a secretive community into international spotlight: It's also prompted questions about how Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic communities handle sex offense accusations, since victim and witness intimidation and shaming are common.

Indeed, even Charles Hynes has come under intense scrutiny, after reports came to light indicating the Brooklyn District Attorney's "apparent complicity in an effort by Brooklyn's Ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic leaders to cover up sex abuse in their communities."

So you might wonder: Is this seeming cover-up culture part and parcel to Judaism?

More >>

Gerald Rich

As pressure mounts, the Brooklyn DA may actually crack down on a culture of retaliation against Ultra-Orthodox Jews who report sex abuse.

A week after a blistering series in the New York Times detailing his apparent complicity in an effort by Brooklyn's Ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic leaders to cover up sex abuse in their communities, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes is in damage-control mode.

We noted earlier this week that some journalists in the Jewish press felt the Times was remiss in failing to credit the work of reporters who had come before. But even those critics acknowledge that the ability of the Times to command public attention was a tremendous boon to those seeking reform.

It looks like they're right: in the week since the series ran, Hynes has been on the defensive. Sunday, he gave an interview to WCBS, attempting to re-frame his position. "I didn't object to someone going to see a rabbi..but I certainly expected that they would report promptly any allegations of sexual abuse," he said.

More >>

Christopher Macsurak

Journalists who have been covering the Orthodox community's sex-abuse problem for years say the New York Times should credit their work.

Last week the New York Times devoted successive front-page stories to the problem of sex abuse in Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic communities and Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes's deference to the religious authorities that often try to cover the problem up.

It's an important issue (one we touched on in our own cover story last fall), and one that deserves the spotlight that the New York Times can provide.

Victims' advocates and journalists who have been tracking the issue for years were thrilled that the Times was finally turning its attention to a scandal that has long been been festering in its back yard. But many were dismayed that the Times series failed to credit the work of other reporters who have been on the beat for years.

More >>

Love is supposed to be everlasting. Unfortunately for many, the only permanent thing to come out of a relationship is an incurable sexually transmitted disease.

And that's why Cyrus Sullivan, of Portland, Ore., claims that he runs STD Carriers Disease Control and Prevention Services, a website that lists claimed and confirmed carriers by their names, locations, descriptions, and sometimes their photos.

The database is completely open to the public -- you don't have to login to browse the listings, and many of the recently added carriers' pics are displayed prominently on the site's front page. Users submit photos freely. There are about 1,500 listings.

From the workmanlike design and sluggish flash slideshow and bizarre comparisons between Pearl Harbor's "hostile Asian men" and STD awareness, you might get the impression that Sullivan, who also runs an online reputation-management business, operates with a tongue-in-cheek M.O.

And you'd be wrong: Sullivan is for real and his work (for better or for worse) is heartfelt, -- and he has updated his site just in time for Valentine's Day.

From the mission statement: "It is our goal that by promoting the sharing of information that we can ultimately protect you health from dangerous diseases while protecting your civil liberties and providing quality entertainment."

Oh boy.

More >>

Joe Paterno spoke out about the child sexual abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky that cost him his job as head coach of the Penn State University football team in an exclusive interview with the Washington Post. "In hindsight, I wish I had done more," he told the Post.

More >>

brooklynda.org

Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes

The relationship between Brooklyn's Orthodox and Hasidic communities and law enforcement has always been a delicate one. Our cover story last summer looked at how hard it is for victims of sexual abuse to get past religious leaders and neighborhood patrols to talk to the police.

At the center of the debate is Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, who has been criticized by victims' advocates as being reluctant to prosecute Orthodox and Hasidic sex criminals. Lately Hynes has been trying to reverse that perception, but so far it looks like he's just managed to stir up more criticism.

More >>

As if the students who tore up the Penn State campus Wednesday night in tragically misguided support of Joe Paterno didn't do enough to hurt the university's image, now a former Nittany Lion player wants to organize "support" for ... Jerry Sandusky.

Sam Stellatella, a Penn State lineman from the late 1950s, sent Sandusky a check for $100. "I told him he's going to need a million dollars to defend himself," the 73-year-old Stellatella told Dan Gelston of the Associated Press. "He called me back and said, `What am I going to do with this money?' I said, 'Use it for your lawyer because you're going to need it.'" Stellatella has also written personal letters to the 1959 Liberty Bowl team asking for donations, explaining, "Here's the thing, these are horrendous charges against him. But he's still entitled to his day in court."

More >>

Unless you've been living under a rock without WiFi for the past 48 hours, even the sports unconscious will have heard the names "Joe Paterno" and "Jerry Sandusky." Last night's firing of Penn State head coach Paterno and school president Graham Spanier by the board of trustees over how the school has handled child-sex abuse allegations against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 40 counts of sexually abusing minors, spurred riots from Penn State students who really should know better.

More >>

Portland, the most promiscuous city in America.

​Dating site OkCupid, which comes out with interesting sex and dating data every now and then, has dropped some new knowledge on us: a list of the 10 most promiscuous cities in the U.S. The metric is based on how many OkCupid users' profiles said they were seeking casual sex. New York, the city of Samantha Jones, of bars that stay open till 4 a.m., a city that should rightfully claim its spot as a bastion of forward-thinking sexuality, is somehow not even in the top 10. To add insult to injury, Portland won instead of us, claiming the number one position. More >>