Ex-Yeshiva Teacher Faces NJ Sex Assault Charges

A former yeshiva teacher in New Jersey is on trial on charges he sexually abused a boy he met at a summer camp where he was a counselor.

Thirty-nine-year-old Rabbi Yosef Kolko denies the charges, which include sexual assault and child endangerment.

The now-16-year-old boy has described contact including molestation and oral sex starting in 2007.

The boy's former therapist testified Thursday that he described the rabbi as his best friend. In early 2009 he also told the therapist he had a secret. His father later called her to say the secret involved sexual abuse by Kolko.

The boy's father, also a rabbi, brought the allegation to a rabbinical court but later took the case to prosecutors.

Authorities say he was ostracized by the Orthodox Jewish community as a result.

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