Sex charges against rabbi Chaim Halpern dropped

Sex charges against a prominent Golders Green rabbi have been dropped after a nine-month investigation that saw his supporters arrested on charges of perverting the course of justice.

Rabbi Chaim Halpern of the Divrei Chaim synagogue had earlier resigned his position of dayan with the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations but he always maintained his innocence in the face of sexual assault charges.

The persistent allegations against him led to a rift within the Orthodox community, with other synagogues quitting the Union after it failed to act on the women’s complaints following their counselling sessions with Halpern.