The Awareness Center is The Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault (JCASA)
Case of Stuart Nevison
(AKA: Stewart Nevison)
New York, NY
http://www.montcopa.org/da/pressreleases/Nevison%20Case.htm
Stuart Nevison is a nephew of Cantor Howard Nevison
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Also see:
When A Family Member Molests: Reality, Conflict, and The Need For Support
Recidivism of Sex Offenders (U.S. Department of Justice: Center for Sex Offender Management)
Cantor charged with sex abuse freed from
jail
By Ralph Vigoda and Mark Stroh
Philadelphia Inquirer - Feb. 20, 2002
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/2709430.htm
The cantor of one of the world's largest synagogues, charged today with sexually abusing his young nephew in Lower Merion over four years, was later freed from a New York City jail on the promise that he would post bond by noon tomorrow.
Howard Nevison, 61, the third man in his family to be charged with abusing the now 12-year-old boy, was in custody for 12 hours after his predawn arrest at his Manhattan apartment. His release outraged Montgomery County authorities, who said they have had to wait years to prosecute the case because the victim was so traumatized by the alleged abuse.
"I'm very upset. I'm astounded. I'm disappointed," Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. said. "Now the victim and the family know Uncle Howard is roaming free. I think that's a travesty. In my experience, this is unprecedented."
Nevison has been the cantor – the official who sings or chants liturgical music and leads the congregation in prayer – at the influential Temple Emanu-El on New York's Fifth Avenue for more than 20 years. The synagogue, founded in 1845, has about 10,000 members.
"The cantor has been a faithful servant to our congregation for 23 years, and never in all of that time has there been any suggestion of improper behavior on his part," read a statement issued by the synagogue this afternoon.
Nevison, who is married and has no children, was originally denied bail in criminal court this afternoon. But his lawyer, John Patrick Deveney, immediately appealed to the New York State Supreme Court and Justice Arlene Goldberg set bail at $100,000. Nevison must post $10,000 tomorrow.
He also surrendered his passport to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who, coincidentally, is affiliated with Temple Emanu-El. Deveney said he didn't know whether Nevison and Morgenthau were friends or acquaintances.
Prosecutors said at least three incidents of abuse occurred between 1993, when the boy was 3, and 1997 - when Nevison visited the family for celebrations and holidays.
The child told investigators that his uncle "threatened to kill him if he ever told anyone about what he did." according to court papers.
Nevison's brother, Lawrence Nevison, 55, and Lawrence Nevison's son, Stewart Nevison, 30, were convicted in 2000 of sexually abusing the boy. Stewart Nevison also told authorities that his father had abused him when he was a child.
The boy's mother has changed her last name and that of her children to avoid the publicity, Castor said. The Inquirer is withholding their names.
An extradition hearing for Howard Nevison is set for March 19.
"He's a very well-respected man in his community," Deveney told the court. "He has very close ties to the community of New York."
Deveney said his client had been living with the possibility of charges for three years.
"With that threat, he never fled," Deveney said in court. "He could have gone and he didn't go. And he won't go now."
He thought Nevison would be allowed to surrender voluntarily, he added.
Castor, though, said he considered Nevison such a high flight risk that he had Lower Merion detectives, unannounced, pick him up at 5:30 a.m. at his home, a few blocks from the synagogue.
"I'd flee if I were him," Castor said.
Castor said that authorities had been aware of the allegations against Howard Nevison for years, but that they could not proceed with prosecution because the boy was too petrified.
Castor acknowledged Nevison's stature within the Jewish community. "A cantor is a figure that is revered within the synagogue, and we tend to assume that religious figures are beyond reproach," he said.
But he also described Nevison as "a menacing presence" to the young child.
"He terrorized the child to the point he would have been too traumatized had he been required to testify," Castor said. "Originally, he wouldn't talk about Uncle Howard."
By last fall, court papers say, the boy told authorities he was ready to go ahead with the prosecution, despite his intense fear of his uncle and the continuing nightmares he suffered. Counseling has helped him muster the courage to testify, Castor said.
The head of Montgomery County's sex-crimes unit, Rich DiSipio, met with the boy, and Castor sat down with his parents to make sure all were prepared for the ordeal to come.
The statute of limitations for prosecuting the case would have run out in 2003, five years after the boy's parents first approached police about the alleged abuse.
Two years ago, when he was 10, the boy testified in Montgomery County at the preliminary hearing and trial of his uncle Lawrence Nevison, who was found guilty and sentenced to five to 15 years. He also testified at the preliminary hearing of his cousin Stewart Nevison, who pleaded guilty to abusing the boy and the boy's sister. Stewart Nevison served jail time and is on probation. Both men are registered in Montgomery County as sexual offenders under Megan's Law.
Howard Nevison's name surfaced during those cases.
"He's the one who was violent," Castor said.
"I think he [Howard] believed the boy was so intimidated by him that he would not talk."
The boy's father, Henry Nevison, is a brother of Lawrence and Howard Nevison. He and Lawrence Nevison told investigators that their older brother Howard sexually abused them when they were children.
Paul J. Fink, professor of psychiatry at Temple University and past president of the American Psychiatric Association, said the Nevison case is unusual because it involves so many people from the same family. But it is not uncommon to see sexual abuse passed on, he said.
"Anybody who is sexually abused tends to abuse others," he said. "That's how they deal with it. There's no rational way to deal with that kind of trauma other than to have to swallow it and develop panic disorder, or do to others."
The Temple Emanu-El Web page describes the synagogue as the "largest Jewish house of worship in the world and the largest Reform Jewish congregation in the United States."
Nevison, known for his performances in cantorial concerts, was featured in "The Papal Concert to Commemorate the Holocaust," in April 1994, becoming the first cantor to sing in the Vatican.
Inquirer staff writer Gaiutra S. Bahadur contributed to this report.
August trial set for ex-cantor accused of molesting
nephew
A pretrial hearing was set for July 1. The man is charged with abusing the boy during visits with relatives in Lower Merion.
By Keith Herbert
Philadelphia Inquirer - April 29, 2005
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/11519331.htm
Former New York City cantor Howard Nevison will go to trial on child-molestation charges Aug. 19 in Montgomery County.
Nevison, 64, was in Montgomery County Court yesterday with his attorney when Judge Paul W. Tressler set the trial date. Tressler also scheduled a pretrial hearing for July 1.
A gag order had been imposed on the lawyers in the case. Nevison's attorney, Ralph A. Jacobs, and First Assistant District Attorney Risa V. Ferman declined to comment.
Nevison is charged with molesting his nephew between 1993 and 1998, when the boy was 3 to 7 years old. The alleged abuse occurred during holidays and family gatherings when Nevison visited relatives in Lower Merion.
The alleged crime came to light in October 1998, when the victim's mother told police that her son had been sexually assaulted by his two uncles and a cousin.
Prosecutors said that members of the family claimed previous abuse: Nevison's two brothers, one of whom is the alleged victim's father, told them that Nevison molested them 40 years ago.
In an earlier ruling, Tressler allowed prosecutors to introduce testimony from the brothers as evidence showing a "common scheme, plan or design" to the molestation allegations.
But Nevison's lawyers appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. A three-judge panel overruled Tressler and barred the brothers' testimony. The panel found the brothers' allegations too old and not specific enough to identify a "signature" crime.
The two family members who were also identified by the victim's mother have already pleaded guilty to sexual assault.
Lawrence Nevison, the boy's uncle, is serving a 5- to 15-year sentence. The victim's cousin, Stewart Nevison, served 11 months in prison and was paroled, according to court records.
In 2003, Nevison was put on leave from Temple Emanu-El, on East 65th Street in Manhattan. Nevison led prayers and sang at the congregation for 23 years.
Contact staff writer Keith Herbert at 610-313-8007 or keithherbert@phillynews.com.
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