BERLIN (JTA) — A Berlin district court has found a local rabbi guilty of “sexual assault and sexual coercion by exploiting a moment of surprise,” a misdemeanor under German law.

The criminal case was brought by the Berlin public prosecutor and by one of multiple women who have accused the rabbi of a range of sexual abuses dating back almost two decades. Anyone with a complaint may press charges, Michael Petzold, a press spokesman for the public prosecutor, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Many of the women — including the co-plaintiff in this case — have said they thought they were his only victim, until news reports of his misconduct emerged following his firing by the Jewish community in Berlin on June 1, 2023.

The saga proved significant because it marked a rare instance of a rabbinic firing by an organized Jewish community in Germany. It also initiated a new openness to discussing abuse allegations within the community.

Reuven Yaacobov, 49, a married father of four, has now been given a suspended prison sentence of 10 months as well as two years’ probation.

The co-plaintiff and two witnesses were among 17 women who had testified against the rabbi in July 2023 to an Orthodox Jewish court, or beit din, in Germany. That court had determined that the defendant was unfit to serve in any of his clerical roles, including as........

© The Times of Israel