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Former Brookline rabbi admits molesting three students in the 1970s

Updated 1:20 p.m.

A former Brookline rabbi pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child today, just as his trial on charges he molested young boys in the 1970s was to begin, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Stanley Levitt will be sentenced tomorrow, the DA's office reports. Levitt was a teacher at the Maimonides School in Brookline back then; he admitted to charges involving three students at the school - in one case during a visit to a student hospitalized at Children's Hospital.

Levitt inadvertently helped prosecutors by moving to Philadelphia in 1980, which stopped the clock for the state's statute of limitations.

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Comments

not just restricted to the Catholics. This guy is a pisser, though.
After reneging on a plea deal where he would have pleaded guilty;

"When asked outside the courtroom if he had been rude to the three alleged victims, Levitt responded, “I am the only victim here.”

Can't wait to see how this guy does in the can.

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Can't wait to see how this guy does in the can.

uh...is that intentional?

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?

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If somebody's a child molester, they're a child molester. It doesn't matter who they are.

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the woodwork. This guy, the priest in South Boston and the new allegations of abuse at Landmark School.

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What the fuck is wrong with this picture? 10 years probation? I'd get more time if I had stolen an iPad out of the Apple Store than what this scumbag got.

Un-fucking-believable..

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Though the judge could have (and should have, IMO) thrown out the previous agreement to give the pervert some jail time.

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Here's how it worked, since no one actually reported the mechanics of it.

In December, with a pending motion to sever that could have resulted in the case being tried three times with three separate victims in three separate trials making each case far weaker, Levitt agreed to plead guilty to a sentence of probation with various conditions. This would have been the first conviction ever, in any jurisdiction, for a serial offender. The victims understood the risks if the case went forward as it was, and they were on board with that disposition.

At the last minute, with the victims and their families present for the plea, Levitt backed out of the agreement. The agreement was declared null and void.

Yesterday, having prevailed at the motion to sever, having fully prepared the victims and witnesses, having brought people in from out of state or arranged their imminent travel here, the case was in a very different posture than it was last year. Perhaps recognizing this, Levitt pleaded guilty at the 11th hour.

Plea negotiations take place in every courthouse every day and they are fluid. Neither side is bound to a prior agreement once it's been rejected, and a judge certainly is not. And while there is every reason to offer an incentive to plead guilty, admit responsibility, and spare victims a trial, there is no penalty for exercising the right to a trial as yesterday's sentencing judge suggested. The Supreme Court has recognized this, the SJC has recognized this, and most judges are aware of this.

The recommended sentence of two and a half years' incarceration was appropriate to the facts, the defendant's record of a nolo contendere plea in Philly, and the likelihood of conviction at trial. We made a recommendation in good faith after taking every appropriate step, and the judge rejected it.

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In what capacity are you speaking as a "we"? Just wondering who you are.

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Jake is the Suffolk County DA's Press Secretary. He often comments on cases where people need clarification of how DA Conley's office worked a case after the fact.

http://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/press-office/

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Hey thanks.

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I saw the ubiquitous Attorney Mitchell Garabedian perched in the front row as the Rabbi pled guilty. Has anyone calculated what Garabedian has made from these clergy sex abuse lawsuits? There's something sketchy about a garden variety lawyer like Garabedian making a fortune off the suffering of children.

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