An Orthodox rabbi has been convicted of fondling an Israeli Army officer on a plane and sentenced to 60 days in jail

Brooklyn Magistrate Ramon Reyes considered numerous letters written on behalf of Gavriel Bidany, but when it came time for the rabbi to speak for himself, he sat in stony silence. "Rabbi Bidany committed a serious crime, touching a young sleeping woman on her private parts," Reyes said. "Such conduct cannot be tolerated." The judge also praised the 23-year-old victim, a lieutenant in charge of a missile defense unit, for having the courage to come forward about the assault on a transatlantic Delta flight from Israel. Bidany, 48, a marriage counselor, faced up to six months in prison for the misdemeanor crime of sexual touching without consent. He had been found guilty by Reyes after a two-day bench trial in Brooklyn Federal Court. Bidany, married and the father of 11 children, had submitted letters to the court from two sons and a daughter who feared his incarceration would jeopardize their matchmaking and marriage prospects.