Wednesday, January 03, 2024
NY Hasidic woman fights to prove sanity after abuse allegation
Goldy Lichter, a 22-year-old Orthodox Hasidic woman, won her court fight Tuesday afternoon after Lichter's mother tried to have her involuntarily hospitalized.
"I'm so happy the case was dismissed," Lichter said after a judge in the mental health section of Rockland County Supreme Court threw out her mother's petition. "There's no evidence I'm a danger to myself."
Frieda Lichter, Goldy's mother, had filed a 16-page court petition to have her daughter committed to a psychiatric ward after Goldy Lichter said she had "recovered memories" of being sexually molested as a child and trafficked by a relative.
"My mother is trying to have me institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital," Goldy Lichter said during one court break, "because she wants everyone to believe that I'm crazy for making up allegations of sexual abuse when, in reality, it happened, and she just wants me to keep quiet about it."
Lichter identified her alleged abuser to PIX11 News, but we are not revealing the name since no criminal charges were ever filed.
Advocate Shulem Leifer was among the supporters who showed up in court for Goldy Lichter.
Lichter's mother testified Tuesday morning after the judge closed the courtroom to all spectators, including the media.
This afternoon, the court was waiting for a psychiatrist to turn up to testify. When the witness didn't appear, the judge dismissed the request for hospitalization.
Lichter's mother spoke briefly outside court after the case was dismissed.
"I want to say I love Goldy," the mother told PIX11 News. "I hope she's going to get the help she needs. I know that I did everything I could to help my daughter."
Frieda Lichter was interrupted by Shulem Leifer, who yelled:
"You should be ashamed! A judge found there was no credible use of this law!"
Goldy Lichter, for her part, faces emotional challenges ahead.
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