Schnitzler Sentencing Minutes

8/12/2019 Schnitzler Sentencing Minutes

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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF KINGS, PART: TAP

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

VS.

MEILECH SCHNITZLER

DATED: June 18 2014

IND # 10648/2012

BEFORE THE HONORABLE JOSEPH GUBBAY JSC

APPEARANCES:

FOR THE PEOPLE:

BY: MR. ARI FARKAS, ESQ.

FOR THE DEFENDANT:

BY: MR. FRIED ESQ.

MICHAEL RIZZO

OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER



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THE CLERK: 10648 o f 2012 Mei l i ch S ch n i t z l e r .

Appearances p lease .

MR FARKAS: Ari Farkas , Kings County D i s t r i c t

A t to r n ey s O f f i c e .

MR FRIED: I s r a e l Fr ied fo r Mr. Schn i t z l e r .

THE COURT: Have the p a r t i e s had an oppor tun i ty

to rev iew the i n v e s t i g a t i o n and sen tence repor t ?

MR FARKAS: Yes.

MR FRIED: Yes.

THE COURT: This was a nego t i a t ed p lea . The

Defendant plead g u i l t y , People to Assau l t in t he Second

Degree.

MR FARKAS: Yes Your Honor with a promise o f

v ~ yea rs proba t ion .

THE COURT: This was a nego t i a t ed p lea by the

p a r t i e s ; i s t ha t cor rec t?

MR FARKAS: Yes Your Honor. And a f u l l

ordered o f pro tec t ion .

THE COURT: Okay. THE COURT: The Defendant

s t ands be fo re the Court a co n v i c t ed fe lon; i s t ha t cor rec t?

MR FRIED: T h a t s c o r re c t , Your Honor.

THE COURT: People any l eg a l impediment why

sen tence cannot be imposed?

MR FARKAS: No Your Honor.

THE COURT: Do you want to be heard , People?

AP



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MR FARKAS: The People have nothing fur the r .

But the complainant in t h i s case i s in the courtroom today.

We informed the Court . And we ask t ha t The Court give an

oppor tun i ty to the complainant to make a s ta tement .

THE COURT: Yes. I i nv i t e the complainant to

come forward.

MR ROSENBERG: My name i s Nathan Rosenberg but

I am known in the community with my Jewish name as Rabbi

Norhom Rosenberg (phonet ic spe l l ing

THE COURT: Yes/ you may proceed.

MR ROSENBERG: Defendant Meil ich Schn i t z l e r ,

with h i s pre-medi ta t ion through a cup of b leach in my face

and almost bl inded me. For over nine years I have publ ic ly

fought fo r p r o ~ t i o n of my - - of the communities , ch i ld ren

f rom sexua l abuse.

I operate the Yiddish ho t l i ne with recorded

weekly l ec t u res about how to prevent and prosecute chi ld

moles ta t ion . My hot l ine draws severa l thousand l i s t ene r s

each week f rom a l l o v e r the world.

My assaul t was not a random event . I t was

t iming. I t was a f t e r t he re was some Mahasaz Weberman

(phonet ic spel l ing was found g u i l t y of 59 counts fo r

sexua l ly ,a ssaul t ing a g i r l fo r ~ w o and a ha l f years .

THE COURT: Listen , I want to give you a fu l l

oppor tun i ty to be heard, okay. I r ea l ly so r t of want to

AP



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focus on what i s r e l ev an t to t h i s proceed ing , a l l r i gh t . I

want to i n t e r j e c t a little b i t , okay.

You r a i s e d the motive. I do not see the

re levancy o f t he Weberman mat te r in t h i s proceeding.

Weberman was t r i e d in t h i s courthouse/ was convic ted in t h i s

cour thouse and sen tenced to more than a cen tu ry in pr ison/ a

I r i gh t about t ha t?

MR ROSENBERG: T h a t s c or r e c t .

THE COURT: OkaY let s l eave the Weberman

mat te r a lone . That i s not be fore t h i s Court . I am much mor

i n t e r e s t e d in hea r ing about you and your t rauma and your

express ion of the exper ience , the pe rsona l exper ience . That

i s what I am i n t e re s t ed in . Because t ha t i s what t h i s

proceeding has to be. e ~ u s e The Court i s ve ry sympathet ic

to the t rauma t ha t you went th rough.

Rabbi cont inue .

MR ROSENBERG: In s p i t e of what the

Defendan t s Attorney cla imed in an in te rv iew with the New

York Times h i s a t t a c k did not go out o f a hea ted exchange

between me and Schn i t z l e r .

On t he day of the a t t a c k I was walking in

Will iamsberg when S c h n i t z l e r saw me from the o ther s ide o f

the s t r ee t , ho ld ing ,a cup of b leqch. He ran ac ross a four

lane s t r ee t , busy t r a f f i c , tapped me on my shoulder . When I

t u rned around he to s sed t he bleach in my face . The a t t a c k

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1 was premedi ta ted .

2 The fac t i s t ha t t he re i s Grand Ju ry t e s t imony

3 from a neighbor, Mr. Sant iago phonet ic spel l ing} who i s the

4 manager -

5 THE COURT: Get to some of t he th ings t ha t the

6 Court i s concerned about . Again, I want to give you an

7 oppor tun i ty to be heard, a l l r igh t . Def in i te ly . But I want

8 to so r t of l i m i t t to your persona l exper ience and not

9 rehash ing the Grand Jury minutes , the Grand Ju ry tes t imony.

10 MR. SCHNITZLER: I was fo r tuna te t ha t

11 bystanders helped me t o f lush my eyes with wate r . I may hav

12 been bl inded fo r l i f e . There are permanent damages today

13 with my eyes and I use a s p e c i a l i s t a phys ic ian . For years

14 I have been i n su l t ed / excommunicatedJand even phys ica l ly

15 a t tacked because of my an t i abuse act iv ism.

16 am no except ion . Anyone in our community wh

17 dares to coopera te with Criminal J us t i c e System ge t s the sam

18 t rea tment . When Schn i t z l e r in ju red me the Defendant was a

19 messenger of those in the Hasid ic communit ies who want us to

20 be s i l e n t .

21 am very disappointed with the plea dea l / wit

22 the Office of the Dis t r i c t Attorney . The D.A. shortchanged

23 me J us t i c e and the i n t e r e s t of_ch i ld ren who a re sexua l ly

24 abused by not br inging the case to t r i a l . I was ready to

25 t e s t i f y . The ADA Mr. Farkas , sa t with me numerous t imes .

AP



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I never expected the p lea barga in un t i l I came

in the courthouse Apr i l the 29th and the ADA t o l d me t ha t

t h i s i s what it i s . And he i s get t ing a p lea with no j a i l

sentence .

Your Honor, i you cannot void t h i s plea dea l

beg you to the l e a s t send a message to the community and to

the D.A. in your sentencing sta tement t ha t t h i s s o r t of

conduct and t h i s so r t of plea deal can no more - - can no

longer be accepted anymore. Please l e t the community know

t ha t you fee l th i s so r t of vio lence needs to be taken more

se r ious . The violence in the community aimed a t the ch i ld re

THE COURT That I wil l cut you of f okay.

Don t want to re turn to the nexus, okay, and t r y ing tD

connect the Defendant s ac ts agains t you with your community

act iv ism. I heard enough on tha t . But , in again, your

concerns about t he re being a non- j a i l d i s pos i t i on in t h i s

case t ha t i s va l i d comment. The pa in and suf fe r ing t ha t you

went through, s i r t ha t i s va l i d comment. The des i re for the

Court to address i t s i n to le rance fo r t h i s kind of behavior ,

t ha t i s va l i d comment.

Are we almost done? Go ahead.

MR. ROSENBERG: On the day where Lhey offered-

Mr. Schn i t z l e r a plea dea l t ha t same day I went in the

community and I was thrown a t with s tones from t een-age

AP



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boys. Everybody was screaming ha ha Schni tz le r i s

walking. So please t ry to send a message for our communit

tha t chi ldren are not free for a l l and people who come

forward are not f ree forever to be in t imidated .

THE COURT: Thank you Rabbi. You may be

seated .

People you want to add anything a t th is

juncture? I f not I wil l move on to Counsel .

MR FARKAS: No Your Honor.

TH COURT: Counsel do you want to be heard?

MR FRIED: Yes Your Honor br ie f ly . This wa

a negot ia ted sentence/ Your Honor. This was not a sentence

or a negot ia t ion tha t took place on the l a s t cour t date .

This was an ongoing negot ia t ion.

This case was qui te lengthy in i t s presence

before The Court . And/ I bel ieve / tha t a l l of the fac t s and

circumstances of t h i s case were eva lua ted thoroughly by both

s ides before the re so lu t ion and dispos i t ion was reached.

In the proba t ion repor t you wil l see tha t Mr.

Schni tz le r has accepted respons ib i l i ty for his ac t ions Your

Honor. He made admissions both in cour t in open court on

the record as well as in the probat ion repor t . And I re ly

upon t hoae admissions and remorse tha t he haa expr-essed fOI

his conduct.

I ju s t want to add tha t I donl t bel ieve tha t

AP



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t h i s i s anything o ther than a l imi t ed in s tance . This in my

opinion, i s not about po te n t i a l hypo the t ica l gre a t e r i s sues

in the community. This was a spat between two people based

on comments tha t were made on t h i s r ad io s t a t i on . I d o n t

condone the conduct o r r e su l t of t h i s conduct . But I do

bel ieve t ha t t h i s d i s pos i t i on i s f a i r . Again I r e l y upon

the nego t i a t ed d i s pos i t i on in t h i s case .

THE COURT: Thank you.

Mr. Schn i t z l e r , Meilech Schn i t z l e r m am I

pronouncing your name cor rec t ly?

THE DEFENDANT: Yes.

THE COURT You have a s t a t u t o ry r i gh t to

address The Court . I f you want to be heard you may be

heard .

THE DEFENDANT: No thank you.

TH COURT: I have given t h i s case a grea t dea

o f thought and de l ibe ra t ion . I a c tua l ly was one of the f i r s t

Judges to pres ide on the case . I read the Grand Jury

minutes . The fac t s of the case , as the Rabbi p o i n ~ e out ,

a re very , very d i s tu rb ing . The conduct i s t ha t kind o f

conduct t ha t resona tes v i sce ra l l y , throwing bleach i n to an

i nd i v i dua l s face. By the grace of God t he re was no

permanent q i ~ f i g u r e m e n t By the grace of God the Rabbi

wasn t bl inded.

I read the i nves t iga t ion and sentence repor t

AP



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and Mr. Schni tz ler does admit his gu i l t . He admits his gu i l

freely . I don t see remorse, any comment about remorse in

the inves t iga t ion and sentence repor t . Maybe he sa id it to

the Probat ion Department. Maybe he sa id he was sorry for

what he did. Maybe he did.

Do you want to t a lk to your c l i en t , Mr. Fried?

Were you sorry? You want to say something?

THE DEFENDANT: 1 -

THE COURT: Loud and c lea r so we could hear

you.

THE DEFENDANT: I want to say I am sor ry for

• -

what I did. I regre t what I did.

THE COURT: You are asking for forgiveness?

THE DEFENDANT: I can ask?

THE COURT: Do i t .

MR FRIED: From here. From here.

THE COURT: You want to come a l i t t l e forward.

Not to forward though. That i s good.

THE DEFENDANT: Are you forg iv ing me?

THE COURT: Could you s i t down. Who i s tha t

guy? Si t down.

THE DEFENDANT: Can you please forgive me?

MR ROSENBERG: No because he d idn t harm

you harmed a l l the chi ldren tha t I represent and there are

thousands of them.



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THE COURT: Okay, you got what he sa id , Mike?

Thank you. We are not Convena Bate Dean (phonet ic s pe l l i ng ) .

MR. ROSENBERG: Th a t s c or r e c t .

THE COURT: We are not going to do t ha t . This

i s a c iv i l cour t . But I do have some f ami l i a r i t y with the

t r ad i t i on . On Rosh Hashanah, r i gh t , we say S ly Hote

(phonet ic spe l l i ng ) . The Sly Hote se rv ice . We ask fo r

forg iveness , r igh t? We say S ly Hate dur ing the se rv ice ,

r i gh t . All from the Roots taha (phonet ic spe l l i ng ) . I am

so r ry . I forg ive . We ask God fo r forgiveness to withhold

forg iveness . I wil l l eave it a t t ha t . Something fo r each o

the p a r t i e s in t h i s case to r e f l e c t on.

Sentence imposed. Five years probat ion . $325

maDdatory surcharge, $50 DNA fee , f ina l order o f pro tec t ion .

That i s on beha l f of Nathan Rosenberg. Ful l s t a y away

order .

Time to pay, Counsel? I w i l l se t it down fo r

MR. FRIED: I be l ieve he could pay today, Your

Honor. What i s the t o t a l ?

THE COURT: $375.

MR FRIED: He could pay todaYI Your Honor.

would ask i the re i s any b a i l t ha t it be

exonera ted as wel l .

THE COURT: I f the re i s ba i l it i s exonerated .

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All r i gh t so you need to l i s t e n to me Mr. Schn i t z l e r . You

w i l l be on proba t ion fo r f ive year s . You plead gu i l t y to a

3 Violent crime. A D Violent Crime c a r r i e s with t the maximum

4 of seven years pr i son . So you have to obey the law. Obey

5 the order of protec t ion . Report to Proba t ion as d i rec ted .

6 Anger management I wi l l s e t down as a cond i t ion o f

7 probat ion . Anger management as a cond i t ion o f probat ion .

S There i s DNA here . The r e a l i t y i s your DNA w i l l be on f i l e .

9 And probat ion w i l l f a c i l i t a t e the swab. That concludes t h i s

10 proceeding.

11 Thank you.

12 MR FRIED: Thank you ve ry much Your Honor.

13 Thank you People .

14 TgE CLERK: Wait fo r your paperwork. Have a

15 sea t in the audience.

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REPORTER'S CERTIFICATION

I hereby c e r t i f y t ha t the foregoing i s a t r u e and

accura t e t r ansc r i p t o f t he proceedings recorded by me.

Michael Rizzo

Senior Court eporter

Documents

Schnitzler Sentencing Minutes