Janet Karro is defending her husband, Rabbi Steve Karro, who is accused of molesting an 11-year-old girl.
“He does not know how to use molestation techniques. I say this as a wife, as his sex partner,” said Janet Karro. “I believe that these charges were placed in order to defile his reputation.”
According to the police report, Steve Karro intentionally touched the girl on her buttocks, over her clothing, and also kissed her neck after sitting her on his lap.
“He never kissed her on the neck as the charges say. And he never touched her on the buttocks area as the charges indicate,” Janet Karro said.
Karro acknowledges her husband touched the girl’s back inside his Miami Beach art gallery on 41st Street this past April. But she insists, he did it as a spiritual, cleansing technique.
“From the top to the bottom just to take off the negative energy, or, not everybody likes it, obviously, but that is in a Spiritual way,” she said.
Up the street from Karro’s art gallery is the Shaare Ezra Sephardic Synagogue Congregation where he is listed as a rabbi.
It’s a close knit, religious community now dealing with disturbing allegations leveled against One of its leaders.
“Why wouldn’t this mother and a daughter leave my husband alone?” asked Karro. When NBC 6 reporter Steve Litz mentioned to Karro that maybe they thought it was a safe environment and everything would be okay, Karro responded, “Everything was okay, everything is okay everything was safe.”
Karro bonded out of jail Thursday night. No one at the Shaare Ezra Sephardic Synagogue Congregation had any comment.
The Miami Beach Police Department wants to identify any additional potential victims.
Anyone who is aware of any suspicious contact between Karro and any other juveniles is encouraged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
