Golders Green rabbi pleads not guilty to sex offences
Rabbi Chaim Halpern will appear again next month, at Harrow Crown Court, for a pre-trial hearing
A rabbi charged with two offences of sexual assault pleaded not guilty in a hearing at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Rabbi Chaim Halpern, 65, appearing under his birth name of Aaron Halpern, told the three women magistrates that he was not guilty.
He elected to go to trial in a crown court rather than a magistrates’ court, and will now appear at Harrow Crown Court on 17 May for a plea and directions hearing.
Rabbi Halpern, who lives in Golders Green, became the subject of a police investigation after an unnamed woman made allegations against him in an interview broadcast on Israeli TV in December 2022. The alleged offences were said to have taken place on 1 June 2022. He has always denied the allegations.
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