Joel Engelman files civil suit alleging historical abuse in Brooklyn

Joel Engelman files civil suit alleging historical abuse in Brooklyn

On August 27, 2008, Joel Engelman, then 23 years old and residing in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, filed a civil lawsuit in Kings County, New York, against United Talmudical Academy (UTA), Rabbi Avrohom Reichman, and associated parties. Engelman alleged that he was sexually abused in 1993 by Reichman, who was principal of the Satmar yeshiva in Williamsburg when the incidents allegedly occurred. The lawsuit sought damages and asserted claims including fraud and breach of promises made by school officials.

Engelman stated in media interviews that the alleged abuse began when he was eight years old and continued for approximately two months while he was a student at the yeshiva. He described the alleged conduct occurring in the principal’s office and said he did not disclose it to his parents for more than a decade.

The civil complaint named UTA and the Satmar Bungalow Colony, an affiliated summer camp, as defendants, asserting that school leadership had promised to remove Reichman from his position but later allowed him to return after Engelman passed the age at which criminal charges could be filed. The suit also named community leaders and organizations involved in past discussions about the case.

Representatives for Rabbi Reichman and the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, a community advocacy group, denied the allegations and disputed the legal claims in statements to the press. UTA officials said that any investigation at the time did not find sufficient evidence to support the accusations.

Engelman’s suit was filed amid broader discussions in New York about the statute of limitations for historical abuse cases. The Child Victims Act, passed later in 2019, subsequently extended the time frame for survivors to bring civil suits for past abuse.