Golders Green rabbi is accused of sexually assaulting a woman who sought his advice, then telling her to 'keep quiet'

Aaron Halpern, 68, a Hasidic rabbi from Golders Green, is on trial at Harrow Crown Court accused of locking the woman in his upstairs study, sexually assaulting her, then paying her to stay silent. The complainant told police in a recorded 2023 interview that Halpern contacted her repeatedly to talk about sex after the assault, saying she had been too scared to speak out.

The woman called Halpern a 'monster' in her police interview, adding: 'He must be stopped.'

She sought religious guidance on Jewish law from Halpern in 2022 after experiencing mental health difficulties, travelling to his north London home with her father.

Prosecutors told jurors it was against Hasidic tradition for a man and woman to be alone together unless married — yet Halpern locked the door behind them.