NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 12th 2007
BY MATTHEW KALMAN
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
JERUSALEM - A suspected Brooklyn pedophile hiding from sex abuse
charges in Israel will become the first American extradited to the
U.S. under a revamped treaty, a Jerusalem court ruled Sunday.
Stefan Colmer, 30, was indicted by a Brooklyn grand jury on charges he
sexually abused two 13-year-old boys from the ultra-orthodox Jewish
community in Brooklyn where he lived.
Hoping to avoid arrest, Colmer, a computer technician and salesman,
fled to Israel and changed his name to David Cohen.
Jerusalem police arrested Colmer in June and have held him pending
Sunday's extradition hearing, at which an Israeli judge ruled he must
be returned to face the charges in Brooklyn.
Before a January change to the treaty, Israel and the U.S. had agreed
to extradite suspected sex criminals only if they had been charged
with rape.
Colmer is suspected of performing oral sex on the two boys over
several months last year after luring them to his home from a nearby
yeshiva high school, according to the U.S. Justice Department's
extradition request.
The Brooklyn grand jury indicted Colmer on eight counts of criminal
sexual acts. If found guilty, he could face up to seven years in
prison.
The Justice Department also has requested the extradition of another
alleged Brooklyn child molester, Rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz, who fled to
Jerusalem 23 years ago amid allegations the former counselor and
principal molested four boys.
Mondrowitz was arrested last month by Israeli police but was released.
The Israeli Justice Ministry has refused to comment on the case.
Attorney Michael Lesher, who represents six men who have accused
Mondrowitz of molesting them as children, said Mondrowitz must be
returned to face charges.
"I am certainly delighted to see that Colmer will be extradited to
face justice in Brooklyn," Lesher said. "But we certainly will not
rest until the same is done with Avrohom Mondrowitz."
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