Staten Island Molester At Chabad House Gets 4 Months For Felony Child Sexual Abuse

Claude Neufeld, a 64-year-old Staten Island man accused of sexually abusing two boys inside the Chabad House of Staten Island has pleaded guilty to one felony and a misdemeanor  – and got a remarkably light sentence as a result.

A 64-year-old Willowbrook man accused of molesting two young boys inside a Meiers Corners Jewish center has pleaded guilty to a felony sex charge.

Claude Neufeld began abusing the victims when they were 8 years old, said court papers.

The incidents occurred inside Chabad Lubavitch of Staten Island, according to court filings and a law enforcement source.

Court records said Neufeld abused one boy four times between Dec. 1, 2009, and Dec. 1, 2010, The boy was 8 and 9 years old when the alleged incidents occurred.

Neufeld touched the boy's genitals over his clothes, said court papers.

He also was accused of molesting a different victim 10 times inside the center between Jan. 14, 2011, and Sept. 21 of last year.

Court documents said Neufeld also touched that boy's genitals over his clothes. That victim was 8, said authorities.

A law enforcement source said those incidents occurred in an upstairs room in the two-story building, at 289 Harold St. Neufeld was an occasional congregant at the center, a place of prayer, reflection and learning, the source said.

Neufeld's initial arrest in October came after one of the victims informed his parents of the incidents. They told a rabbi at the center who advised them to contact police, the source said.

The suspect, who remains free on $50,000 bail, was re-arrested last month based on a continuing probe, said the source.

Neufeld recently pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to a felony count of attempted second-degree course of sexual conduct and a misdemeanor count of endangering a child's welfare.

Under his agreement, he'll be sentenced Aug. 22 to four months in jail and 10 years' probation, said a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

Orders of protection will be issued forbidding him from contacting the victims for five and eight years, respectively. Neufeld must also register with state authorities as a sexual offender.

Assistant District Attorney Victoria Levin is prosecuting the case.

The Advance is attempting to reach Neufeld's lawyer for comment.

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