The Rabbi of Cleveland’s Pepper Pike Synagogue, Stephen Weiss, was arrested and charged with attempting to solicit minors. He is currently free on a $50,000 bail.
Rabbi Stephen Weiss
Authorities say Rabbi Stephen Weiss of a Pepper Pike synagogue accepted to meet a 15-year-old kid on a social networking platform for adultery.
Instead, he was apprehended by officers of the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children task force, who charged him with attempted illicit sexual activity with a minor.
Who Is Rabbi Stephen Weiss Cleveland Pepper Pike?
Rabbi Stephen Weiss is the main rabbi at Pepper Pike’s B’nai Jeshurun Congregation. Weiss is one of three rabbis at B’nai Jeshurun Congregation on Fairmount Boulevard, according to the synagogue’s website.
Weiss is described as a “outspoken community leader” who assisted in the construction of a new Jewish summer camp for children called Camp Ramah. According to his biography on the synagogue’s website, he also founded two new Jewish high schools.
On April 18, Weiss was arrested for trying illegal sexual activity with a minor. After having sexual internet contacts with an undercover investigator posing as a 15-year-old boy, he was arrested.
According to a felony complaint filed by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, the 60-year-old Pepper Pike resident drove to a pre-arranged location in Newburgh Heights.
After communicating on a social networking app, he allegedly planned to engage in sexual activity with the accused child. He was caught on the scene by officers from the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
His vehicle was investigated, and investigators uncovered a packet of condoms and two bottles of lubricant, according to the prosecutor’s office.
On Tuesday, Weiss’ attorney, Michael Goldberg, declined to comment on the matter in any way. Similarly, the synagogue’s executive director, Jay Ross, has declined to reply.
Rabbi Stephen Weiss Was Arrested With Solicitation Charges
Rabbi Stephen Weiss was arrested in Cuyahoga County on Monday after allegedly attempting to meet a 15-year-old boy for adultery.
Weiss was charged with one count of attempted illegal sexual behavior with a kid, one count of importuning, and one count of having criminal tools, according to the prosecutor’s office.
According to an affidavit signed by the agent, Weiss agreed to have oral sex with him. Judge Andrew Santoli of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court authorized the affidavit, giving authorities the authority to arrest Weiss.
Weiss was granted $50,000 bond on April 19, according to court filings. He is required to wear a GPS standard monitoring device as a condition of his jail release, according to the court record.
He has yet to appear in court for the hearing, and it will be at that time that the decision on any additional charges, if any, will be made.
The news of another case of pedophilia, in which Stephen Weiss, 60, abused a 15-year-old juvenile, shocked the internet.
Rabbi Stephen Weiss was born in Chicago, according to his Wikipedia page on the B’nai Jeshurun website. He graduated from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles with a B.A. in Jewish and Western Civilization.
In 1990, the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York ordained Weiss. In addition, Hospital Chaplaincy Inc. and Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York provided Rabbi Weiss with pastoral counseling training.
Rabbi Weiss has been teaching Jewish children for the past twenty-five years. He’s also worked as a Regional Fieldworker and a USY adviser.
Before coming to B’nai Jeshurun in April 2001, Weiss worked as a rabbi in Atlanta, GA, and Southfield, MI for eleven years. Over the years, he has earned a reputation as a caring spiritual leader and a rigorous Torah instructor.
He was previously the head of a regional chapter of the United Synagogue Youth, which promotes itself as the youth organization of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Weiss has served on the Rabbinic Councils of National Israel Bonds, United Jewish Communities, and the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, among others. He was also a member of the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Chancellor’s Cabinet.
When he was arrested on suspicion of soliciting youngsters, the County Prosecuters revealed his true character.
