Accused Rabbi Rapist Was JTS Student At Time Of Incident

An Arizona rabbi is being extradited back to New York on charges of raping a 7-year-old girl while he was a rabbinical student at the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary in 2000.

Authorities said the rabbi, Bryan Bramly, 45, is accused of raping the child while she slept over his family's home here. The girl, now 17, did not report the attack until last August.

Rabbi Bramly was arrested Tuesday in the parking lot of his synagogue, Temple Beth Sholom in Chandler, Ariz., by members of the New York Police Department's Manhattan Child Abuse Unit and the U.S. Marshals Child Predator Apprehension Team, according to the New York Police Department.

A spokeswoman for the seminary said of the arrest: "We are all obviously upset by this allegation, but we don't comment on ongoing investigations."

Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, said he did not know Rabbi Bramly and had no record of him either being a member of the board or serving as a rabbi here.

"No community is immune from this problem and every community has a moral responsibility to demand a full investigation," he said. "It is said those who close their eyes never see tears, and we have seen too many times where people have closed their eyes thinking that the problem would go away.

"Certainly, Jewish tradition doesn't sanction that attitude," Rabbi Potasnik said. "Communities need to cooperate with the authorities so that all the information is brought out."