Teacher Efraim S.
Dutch Jewish teacher sentenced to 2 years for sexual assault
Former teacher convicted of inappropriately touching 13-year-old student while working at Orthodox school; teacher, who moved to Israel and was extradited back to Netherlands, ordered to pay €6,000 in compensation, barred from teaching for 5 years.
Teacher Efraim S., who worked at an esteemed school of the Amsterdam Jewish-Orthodox community and sexually assaulted
one of his students, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison by a Dutch court.
The teacher was extradited to The Netherlands more than two years ago, after escaping to Israel and teaching there as well.
In 2012, the teacher inappropriately touched a 13-year-old student and massaged different areas of his body several times, according to court documents. "The man gravely took advantage of the victim's fragile state and harmed his physical and sexual well-being," the court's ruling said.
The teacher also taught in Israel, before being extradited to his home country to face charges of sexual assault
Efraim was also ordered by the court to pay his student 6,000 euros in compensation, and he has been barred from teaching in the next five years.
The former educator was initially accused of sexually abusing five more students, aged six to 13, with prosecution proving he had indeed massaged two of them on the shoulders and neck.
While his actions were inappropriate and unwelcome, the court did not find them sexual and he was therefore not convicted of sexual abuse in the aforementioned instances.
As for the remaining three students, it was determined their testimonies did not suffice to prove an illegal act had been committed.
Initial suspicions against the Jewish teacher came to light in 2012, but the school refused to press charges at first, announcing it had held a "clarification talk with the teacher."
Teacher (R) was convicted of inappropriately touching 13 year old student
After suspicions of harming other students came to light, however, and the affair making national headlines, the school's administration joined the complaint against him as well.
While the complaint was being processed, Efraim left his home country for Israel. At the end of January 2014, Dutch authorities contacted Israel and submitted an extradition request.
More than two years later, on March 2016, he was arrested and extradited.
Earlier this week, an Israeli-born teacher was sentenced to seven years in prison for the statutory rape of six young girls, some of whom went to the school in which he taught.
Teacher Shaul Shamai was sentenced to 7 years in prison for the statutory rape of six girls (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
The teacher, 49-year-old Rishon LeZion resident Shaul Shamai, was convicted as part of a plea bargain. Four of his victims, aged 7-8, were pupils at the school while the remaining two received private lessons from him.
In addition to the seven year sentence, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Zvi Gurfinkel gave Shamai an 18 month suspended sentence and ordered him to pay each girl NIS 25,000 in compensation.
