New York Post

New tack vs. Yeshiva U. ‘ sex abuse’

- Rich Calder

He lost a lawsuit against Yeshiva University’s prestigiou­s allboys school involving alleged decadeslon­g sex abuse — so his parents are now trying to make an end run for justice.

In what their lawyer calls a firstofits­kind move in the state, Israel and Chaya Gutman are set to file suit on Monday claiming the embattled Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy in Manhattan deceptivel­y advertised itself as a safe place to send youths.

“This is the first case in which a parent has sued a school for deceptive practices based upon the school’s retention of known sexual predators,” the Florida couple’s lawyer, Kevin Mulhearn, told The Post.

The Manhattan Supreme Court suit echoes allegation­s of sex abuse made against former school officials — from the principal on down — in a $ 680 million federal suit.

That suit involved 34 unnamed former students who attended the high school between 1969 and 1991, including the Gutmans’ son, who is now in his late 40s and lives in Israel.

The lawsuit was dismissed last year by a Manhattan federal judge, who said the statute of limitation­s had elapsed because more than three years had passed since when alleged abuse occurred and when the plaintiffs sued.

Mulhearn is arguing in the new suit that the statute of limitation­s for filing suit should start when the parents found out about the alleged molestatio­n.

The couple says their son came to them only after a newspaper article surfaced in December 2012 detailing former students’ allegation­s. He said he was molested in the early 1980s.

Yeshiva University said in a statement Sunday: “The allegation­s of abuse have already been fully litigated in federal court and dismissed on the grounds that the alleged acts occurred decades ago, well beyond the statute of limitation­s.

“Now, Mr. Mulhearn is attempting a legal maneuver involving one set of parents, not any of the alleged victims. We will continue to defend against his actions as we focus on enhancing our position as a premier institutio­n for learning.”

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