Best-selling Israeli children's author alleged to have had raped underage girls - The Jewish Chronicle

A top-selling Israeli author of Charedi children’s books is facing allegations that he raped two underage girls – and a further accusation involving a then 20-year-old woman who was his therapy patient.

According to a Haaretz investigation, Chaim Walder – who denies the claims – met one of the alleged victims when she was 12, more than 20 years ago. The woman claims the author told her she was “very mature” and made flattering remarks about her appearance.

Over time, the comments became more explicit and he would ask her regularly if she had begun menstruating. She claims that from the age of 13 Walder engaged in full intercourse with her.

"I remember the trauma afterwards, I remember crying," Haaretz reported. "I would study for tests in my head, wait for it to end, and go home. I was like a corpse.”

She said the situation continued until she was 16 when she distanced herself from him, adding that Mr Walder warned her to keep silent, telling her nobody would believe her if she did say anything.

Another woman told the paper that she was had sex with Mr Walder, starting from the age of 15, claiming that he took advantage of her youth and admiration for him.

Mr Walder is credited as a pioneering author for Charedi children and young adults, using characters who speak openly about their feelings and experiences.

The first book in his Kids Speak series is one of Israel’s top-selling books of all time and he has sold more than two million books in Israel and the diaspora.

In 2003, he received the Prime Minister's child protection award, recognising his promotion of the status of children and his belief in the ability to improve their situation.

He also heads the Centre for Child and Family run by the Bnei Brak municipality and is a counsellor for young people dealing with trauma and abuse.

It is in this capacity that he met his third accuser, who filed complaints against the author more than a decade ago, police citing a lack of evidence for closing the case.

The alleged victim did not speak to Haaretz. But according to a friend, she had gone to Mr Walder for therapy. "One day… he touched her against her will. Her boundaries were not clear and he took advantage of this."

Friends of the woman said that Mr Walder justified his sexual relations with her by saying that in Jewish law, using contraception provided a "buffer" and thus did not count as cheating on his wife.

In a statement, Mr Walder’s legal representatives said he had devoted his life “to promote, nurture and protect the welfare of children and their rights in general, and the ultra-Orthodox sector in particular.

“Over the years, Mr Walder has waged struggles for the benefit of children who have suffered violence and abuse and as a result, certain elements have given themselves the goal of harming him and there is evidence of some foolish attempts to incriminate our client," they claimed.

"Mr. Walder is an ultra-Orthodox man and he has never touched minors or women in this way...Our client is determined that he not be harmed by this in the slightest, and will fight for his good name with all the legal means at his disposal."

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