The former head of an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood watch group pleaded guilty on Friday to charges that he forced a troubled 15-year-old girl to have sex.
Brooklyn Shomrim leader Jacob Daskal, 64, avoided trial in Brooklyn Federal Court on allegations he groomed the underage girl and transported from Brooklyn across the state line to New Jersey and then upstate, where he assaulted her at his vacation home and at a campground.
As part of his guilty plea, Daskal agreed to a sentence within the range of 14 to 17 years in jail. He is also required to register as a sex offender. The exact details of his sentence will be determined at a future hearing.
“The defendant has admitted he abused his power, trust and position in the community by committing deplorable acts against a child in his care,” stated Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.
Daskal broke down in tears as he admitted his guilt.
“I transported the 15-year-old victim from New York, Brooklyn to New Jersey,” he said. “I was 58 years old at that time.”
Daskal, however, did not make any detailed statements in court about his illegal conduct with the victim.
According to prosecutors, Daskal used his status as the anti-crime patrol’s chief to scare his victim into keeping quiet,
“It’s just going to ruin your life if you tell people,” he warned the teen, according to the feds.
The alleged abuse started in 2017, after the teen, who was a member of the Orthodox Jewish community in Borough Park, started having problems with her family and asked a local mentor for help that spring, according to filings by federal prosecutors.
That mentor contacted the Borough Park Shomrim Society, which in turn linked the girl up with Daskal.
The Shormim, an influential volunteer group with ties to the NYPD, works as a nonprofit auxiliary police of sorts in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods. It has about 130 members, a 24-7 dispatch service and vehicles that have markings resembling police cars.
Daskal, who was the…
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