Brooklyn Rabbi Arrested On Sexual Assault Charges

The Sun, New York/December 8, 2006
By Bradley Hope

A Brooklyn rabbi was arrested on charges of sexual assault of a child yesterday, police officials said.

Rabbi Yehudi Kolko, 60, who taught at an all-boys school, in May was the target of a $20 million lawsuit by a former student. On Tuesday, another student filed a lawsuit seeking $10 million. Both students say Mr. Kolko sexually assaulted them.

Mr. Kolko was arrested yesterday at his home at 1249 E. 22nd St. following a long-term investigation, police said.

He was charged with four counts of sexual abuse, including two felony counts, and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

The most recent sexual abuse was allegedly against an 8-year-old boy, who says he was abused while he was in the first grade during the 2002-03 school year, police said.

Mr. Kolko has been on administrative leave since May from Torah Temimah, a school for Orthodox boys school in Brooklyn with 1,000 students. He was also active in the school's summer camp, Camp Silver Lake, according to an article in New York magazine.

According to the magazine article, he attracted suspicion among religious leaders in the mid-1980s for similar allegations. A dozen children reported to counselors that Mr. Kolko had abused them, but those accounts did not lead to a criminal investigation, the article said.

As of yesterday evening, Mr. Kolko had not been arraigned on the charges in Brooklyn Criminal Court.