Ew, ugh, not again
I don’t know how I missed this sorry story for nearly two weeks.
It seems that on October 17th the story broke in NC news that Rabbi David Alan Stein, who had been working at The American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro as the director of campus life, was charged with having sex with a now 16 year old boy.
This is rather curious as it was last spring (and Stein was fired), and the alleged acts took place in the 2006-2007 year. The most interesting thing, in my opinion, is that there has been no big news brou ha ha around the country as there was with, for example, the schlemiel David Kay (who resigned his rabbinate). From mental health professionals with whom I have spoken, that poor schmo would likely have never actually acted out his pathetic fantasies if he hadn’t been entrapped in that particular way. Reagardless of whether he would have or not, however, now, we have a guy who has been charged with actually doing something, and the news just dies stillborn, as best as I can tell.
Is this simply evidence that clergy engaging in appalling acts simply have become so commonplace that we no longer notice unless they’re served up with some sort of entrapment scandal where we get to indulge in our worst voyeuristic tendencies and read the transcripts?

