Rabbi Yacov Simmonds, 42 years old, is wanted by the Winnipeg Police Service on 8 counts of child sex crimes against 3 alleged female victims.

In October 2017, Simmonds was scheduled to turn himself in to the Winnipeg police, per an agreement that allowed him to spend the holidays with his family. Simmonds failed to appear at the police station and a search of his home revealed that he and his family were gone. Winnipeg police confirmed that Simmonds had fled Canada, and an arrest warrant was issued. Shortly thereafter Simmonds and his family were located in the US. Social service authorities became involved, but before he could be arrested he disappeared once again.

JCW can now verify that we have located Simmonds living in Kiev, Ukraine, with his family. He is spending most of his time in the Karlin community.

B.Y., who was a minor when Simmonds allegedly abused her, made the following statement:

“I am a strong and confident woman, I will not let this define me or my family, Yaakov Simmonds will be held accountable for his actions. We were kept quiet long enough. The only thing left to hold onto is the truth.”

Meyer Seewald, founder and director of JCW, released the following statement:

“For years, Orthodox child sex predators were able to move quietly to a new Jewish community when their past history of abuse was discovered. The new community was rarely made aware of the abusers in their midst and these hidden predators were able to continue their evil crimes against children in secrecy. This reality ends now.

At JCW, our dedicated staff and passionate volunteers in every corner of the world will track down individuals that are believed to be a danger to children wherever they are. We will expose their whereabouts to the world and will tirelessly continue our mission of protecting Jewish children in every community and fighting for every survivor’s right to see justice.”