Williamsburg sex offender arrested in connection to molestation case.
Ajay Suresh/Wikimedia Commons
A Williamsburg man is due to be arraigned Thursday afternoon following his arrest in connection with an alleged sexual assault that occurred in Monsey, New York sometime between April and June of 2023.
Joseph Grunwald, a convicted sex offender and Williamsburg resident, was arrested Jan. 3 in Borough Park as he exited a synagogue. He is being represented by attorney Allegra Glashausser of Brooklyn Federal Defenders.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Breon Peace, the US District Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Grunwald began communicating with the underage victim in April of last year, using the instant messaging app Telegram to lure a minor to meet him using interstate commerce.
Grunwald allegedly asked whether the victim was a “bocher” — a Yiddish term for boy — with the victim replying he was 14 years old. Grunwald then allegedly told the victim that he was a school bus driver, sending the victim pictures of himself aboard a school bus.
As time progressed, Grunwald continued to communicate with the victim, allegedly asking the victim sexual questions. According to the criminal complaint, Grunwald on more than one occasion explicitly said he was interested in young boys, telling the victim, “I do it with teenagers every day” and “wow I like young boys.”
Grunwald also allegedly described in his messages to the victim how he bribed other victims by purchasing them items or gifts, going on to promise the victim that, if he needed anything, Grunwald would buy it for him on Amazon.
In June of 2023, the victim alleges that Grunwald arranged for him to visit on the premise that Grunwald would help the victim get a cell phone. Grunwald then allegedly picked up the victim from his shul — a Yiddish word for synagogue — before driving the two of them to a dead end road near Lake Suzanne in Monsey, where…
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