WEST ROGERS PARK — A rabbi charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2006 has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Cook County Criminal Court.
Aryeh "Larry" Dudovitz, 45, entered the plea last week.
Dudovitz, who has been free on bond, is scheduled to appear back in court on Aug. 22.
His lawyer, Richard Kling, didn't immediately return a request for comment.
Dudovitz wasn't arrested until late May, despite the fact a state agency substantiated abuse allegations involving the boy and seven other victims in 2007.
Police say they couldn't get cooperation from witnesses at the time, and it wasn't until recently that the boy, now 22, came forward to detectives to seek the prosecution of his alleged attacker.
Meanwhile, Vicki Polin, who runs a nonprofit called The Awareness Center that advocates for victims of sexual abuse in the Jewish community, has launched an online fundraiser for the alleged victim.
She said she was working "to find more people who are willing to help survivors" of sexual abuse.
Dudovitz's accuser injured his knee in a bicycle accident and has been living at home.
Any money raised would go toward living expenses.
"He needs to live on his own," Polin said.
The accuser said Tuesday that his knee had "gotten a lot better," but he hadn't been able to find employment since he had to stop working a job at a restaurant.
The fundraising, he said, "helps me out tremendously."
DNAinfo.com Reporter/Producer Erin Meyer contributed to this report.
