ByDan Goldberg, Dan Goldberg
An Orthodox Jew has been charged with sexually assaulting children at a Jewish school in Australia.
David Cyprys, a locksmith who runs a company called Shomer Security, faced Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday on 16 counts of indecent assault and 13 counts of gross indecency, allegedly committed against students at Yeshivah College between 1984 and 1991.
Cyprys, 43, who was contracted by the Orthodox boys' school to work as a security guard, was given strict bail conditions. He has to surrender his passport, stay at 100 metres or more from schools and not contact any child under 16 - including his children and step-children - unless supervised by authorities. The magistrate also slapped a $50,000 (£32,000) surety on his bail.
There were five alleged victims in Victoria, five in New South Wales, and investigators are travelling to America to interview two more, the court heard. The alleged victims were between seven and 17 at the time of the incidents.
Manny Waks, one of the alleged victims who was a student at Yeshivah College 20 years ago, said in a statement: "I and the other victims remain determined to ensure justice prevails and that the perpetrator and his facilitators are held to full account.
"As victims we look forward to achieving closure and justice. After more than 20 years, this now seems attainable."
But he chided his former school, which he accused of having "a high level of moral and legal responsibility in this case".
In a letter to parents this week, Yeshivah College principal, Rabbi Y Smukler, declined to comment while the case is before court, but expressed his "sympathy to those who may have been affected" and said the college had "all possible measures in place to provide a safe and secure environment".
It is understood that the reopening of a police investigation in June into former Yeshivah College Jewish studies teacher David Kramer - who fled Australia in the early 1990s after allegations he had sexually abused boys - prompted alleged victims to report Cyprys to authorities.