Rabbi Pleads Not Guilty in Molestation Case
Rabbi Israel Grunwald pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a federal charge that he fondled a teenage girl on a Los Angeles-bound flight from Australia last year.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles filed a misdemeanor count of abusive sexual contact against Grunwald last week.
The leader of a branch of a New York-based Hasidic sect, Grunwald appeared in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and will remain free on $10,000 bond. The trial date has not been set.
In a statement, Rex Beaber, Grunwald attorney’s, protested the prosecution’s decision to proceed with the case. He said his client has provided the government with results of a polygraph test “that indicates his complete innocence with a 99% certainty,” as well as sworn declarations from passengers saying that they did not witness any improper acts.
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