U.S. court clears path for extradition to Australia of alleged sex abuser

SYDNEY (JTA) – A U.S. judge cleared the way for the extradition to Australia of a man wanted in connection with alleged child sex abuse at a Jewish school.

David Kramer, 51, a dual Israeli-American national, is accused of sexually abusing students at the Yeshivah College in Melbourne between 1989 and 1993.

A judge in St. Louis, Mo., sustained the motion for Kramer’s extradition on Oct. 2 and U.S. marshals moved Kramer to Texas on Oct. 26, apparently in preparation to transfer him to Australia, JTA has learned.

Parents at Yeshivah College, an Orthodox boys’ school that is run under the auspices of Chabad-Lubavitch movement, accuse school officials of helping Kramer flee Australia in 1993 after complaints were raised about the alleged sexual abuse of students. The allegations were not reported to police at the time.

Kramer went to Israel and then America, where he was jailed in 2008 after pleading guilty to molesting a 12-year-old boy at a synagogue in Missouri.

Kramer was arrested on April 23 in response to Australia’s application for his extradition, a spokesman for the Australian Attorney General’s department told JTA.

"David Kramer is wanted by authorities of the Australian state of Victoria to face prosecution for the offenses of indecent assault and indecent acts with a child under the age of 16," the spokesman said, adding that  was the government’s "longstanding policy not to comment on operational matters, including the timing or logistics of potential surrenders."

Meanwhile, David Cyprys, a former security guard contracted to Yeshivah College, will stand trial in July on multiple counts of child molestation, including child rape. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against 12 defendants who were students at Yeshivah College in the 1980s. Three of them now live in the United States.