[Avodah] Abuse and Halakhah

[T613K at aol.com]

From: "Shoshana L. Boublil" <toramada at bezeqint.net>
> The placing of permitting abuse vs. Lashon HaRa bothers me. We have
> mitzvat Eidut where a person is obligated by Torah to inform the local
> Beit Din of an aveira. There is no discussion with regard to this mitzvah
> at all

From: "Gershon Dubin" <gershon.dubin at juno.com>
> The Gemara says that if a person comes to Beis Din as a single eid,
> and therefore has no ne'emanus as an eid, he is guilty of leshon hara and,
> in one case in the Gemara, was given malkos for his efforts.

I really don't think hilchos eidus are relevant here. Ask any rav you can
think of and I am sure he would say that if you have personal, credible
knowledge of someone who is currently being a rodef -- specifically,
that someone is molesting children (let's say your own child told you
a camp counselor did xyz) -- you should tell somebody in authority and
not wait to ascertain that you are one of two eyewitnesses, that you
warned the perp, that you are not related to the perp or to the victim,
yada yada. I'm not too sure of the details of eidus but if you know
an abuser you have a positive duty to report him, and many if not most
rabbanim would say you should call the police.

--Toby Katz