Former Canadian rabbi accused of sexual offences spotted in Manchester
Man recognised in Prestwich eight years after Canadian arrest warrant issued for historical sexual offence charges
A former Winnipeg rabbi charged with multiple historic sexual offences and believed by police to have fled Canada has been reported as being in Greater Manchester, prompting a report to UK police.
The man, Yacov Simmonds, was recognised in the Prestwich area last month by a member of the local Jewish community, who later submitted an online report to police after confirming his identity through publicly available reporting.
Simmonds, now in his 50s, is the subject of an outstanding Canadian arrest warrant issued in October 2017. According to Winnipeg Police, he faces three counts of sexual assault, three counts of sexual interference, and two counts of invitation to sexual touching, with alleged incidents involving three complainants said to have occurred between 1993 and 1999.
Canadian police said at the time that Simmonds was aware of the warrant and was “actively evading police”.
The individual who reported the sighting, who is not a complainant and has asked to remain anonymous, told Jewish News they initially noticed the man while he was walking locally with a child. After making discreet enquiries within the community and reviewing earlier media coverage, they became concerned it was the same individual named in Canadian reports and alerted police so the matter could be assessed.
In their report, the witness stressed that they could be mistaken in their identification but felt it was important to flag the sighting given the seriousness of the allegations previously reported in Canada. They said they had not contacted any schools or communal institutions directly and had shared the information only with the police for safeguarding purposes.
Winnipeg Police previously said they believed Simmonds had fled to the United States following the issuing of the warrant. There is no suggestion that he has faced any court proceedings in Canada since.
At the time charges were announced in 2018, the Lubavitch Centre in Winnipeg, where Simmonds worked between 2000 and 2016, said the allegations related to a period before his employment there and confirmed his role had been terminated after the matter was brought to its attention.
In a statement reported by CTV News, the centre said: “We have been advised that these charges relate to matters that allegedly occurred prior to Rabbi Simmonds’ engagement with the centre. The matter was brought to our attention in January 2016 after which the centre concluded an agreement to terminate Rabbi Simmonds’ employment. As the matter is now before the courts and out of respect for the families involved, we have no further comment to make at this time.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed they had received information and said any reports would be assessed in line with standard procedures. No arrest has been announced.
Jewish News understands the individual who raised the alert acted out of concern that few people locally would be aware of the Canadian warrant.
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