The Ihr Hatorah has been in turmoil the past few days over the shocking news that R' Binyomin Kubani, a respected avreich with no prior criminal history, was arrested by the Lakewood Police Department over troubling allegations.
R' Binyomin, who went to a car wash on Route 88 to find a day laborer to clean his carpet, found himself in handcuffs after a 15 year old boy accused him of luring him.
While lodged in Ocean County Jail from Thursday night through Monday afternoon, the Lakewood oilam which was shocked to the core over the allegations, lodged a massive tefilah atzeres in efforts to support R' Binyomin.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office initially filed a motion for pretrial detention, which statutorily required the judge to keep R' Binyomin detained until at least Thursday. However, due to herculean efforts led by Yosef Jacobovitch, R' Binyomin's defense attorney, the Prosecutor waivered and R' Binyomin was ultimately released on Monday afternoon under pre-trial release monitoring conditions.
However, the gloom and darkness are already turning into brightness. Less than 24 hours since R' Binyomin's release, Mr. Jacobovitch today filed a formal motion in Superior Court seeking a complete dismissal of the pending criminal charges.
The motion argues extremely plainly that the allegations against Mr. Kubani do not meet the legal standards required under the applicable statute, and that the facts — even as described by law enforcement — do not support any finding of criminal intent or unlawful conduct. The filing urges the court to dismiss the case based on well-established legal precedent.
In a troubling spin, the motion highlights that the police report originally documented only a nonverbal gesture allegedly made by R' Binyomin. However, during a follow-up interview conducted by a detective, the alleged victim’s story changed — with new, more inflammatory details introduced only after further police questioning. The defense has raised serious concerns about the credibility and suggestive nature of the interview tactics, and intends to seek the full video and audio of that exchange.
"We firmly believe that Rabbi Kubani was wrongly accused. Our team will continue working tirelessly to uncover the truth, gather evidence, and pursue every available avenue to vindicate him.
“We are confident that once the court reviews the motion and the facts, it will become clear that this case does not belong in the criminal justice system,” Yosef Jacobovitch told FAA News “This has been a deeply distressing experience for Rabbi Kubani and his family, and B'ezras Hashem, we look forward to clearing his name in the near future."
A court date on the motion is expected to be set in the coming weeks.
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5 comments:
Shocker. I hope the day comes when LPD pays big time for this big assault on the frum community.
Sounds guilty
Any guesses on how much this will cost us, the taxpayers, due to police incompetence?
Seems to me you don’t like victim exposing the truth and going to the police and reporting the crime. If you despise our secular law enforcement that much , then why won’t you push Trump to allow the frum to have their own police force??? Have him push your religious values and laws into the local government and call it a day??? Would that make you feel better????
Amazing how quickly people assume guilty. Our ( the USA) fundamental principle has been innocent until proven guilty. And if the police was leading on the witness, which seems a very strong possibility, then it is a high crime of very serious consequences. As for the supposed victims motive, could be many but certainly the opportunity to gain a visa.
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