A former elementary school teacher has withdrawn his guilty plea in a child sex abuse video case, raising questions about legal advice and charges.
He had initially pleaded guilty to some pretty heavy charges, but recently, he got the green light to withdraw that plea. The judge, Jennifer Branch, agreed to let him do this after his lawyer, Richard Goldberg, admitted he messed up. Apparently, he told Netanel to plead guilty to a more serious crime than he should have.
Netanel had been teaching at Rockwern Academy, a private Jewish school, for about eight years. When he first pleaded guilty back in September 2024, it seemed like things were set. But during the sentencing, Goldberg realized his mistake and said, “I gave Mr. Netanel bad advice.”
The whole situation got a bit complicated during the hearing. They were discussing what it means to “exchange” versus “disseminate” videos. Netanel was facing multiple counts for possessing and sharing these abusive videos, including one that showed a man assaulting a young girl.
The prosecutor, Chris Lipps, mentioned that Netanel had shared these videos using the Kik messaging app and even talked about disturbing fantasies. But Goldberg argued that Netanel was just exchanging videos, which is a lesser crime than distributing them.
Now, the judge is expected to set a trial date soon, and it looks like this case is far from over. It’s a tough situation, and it’s hard to believe someone who was supposed to be teaching kids could get involved in something so awful.
