Sun colleague Nick Madigan reveals new allegations against Rabbi Jacob A. Max in Sunday's newspaper. The allegations come from five women who spoke to Madigan after Max was convicted earlier this year of sexually molesting a younger woman at a Reisterstown funeral home.

As Madigan describes it:

The hushed accusations of Max's penchant for groping and fondling - which some women say he accompanied with a smirk and an excuse about his being a "bad rabbi" - appear to have been tolerated without inquiry for decades because of his standing and authority in the tightly knit religious community. Girls who complained to their mothers about his conduct say they were ignored. ...

News of the conviction prompted five other women to share with The Baltimore Sun their own allegations of improper advances by the rabbi. Three contacted a reporter and the remaining two were referred by others. The women said news of the conviction impelled them to come forward because they believe their charges about Max's behavior deserve to be disclosed, no matter how long ago the events occurred. ...

None of the five women had spoken publicly before the criminal case, because, they say, it was understood that members of the modern Orthodox Jewish community - especially young ones - did not divulge errors by its leaders, let alone accuse them of impropriety.

Max's attorney did not make his client available to comment. Attorney David B. Irwin denied any wrongdoing by Max:

"If anyone took a friendly gesture the wrong way, as far as he's concerned, he's sorry," Irwin said. "But he never intentionally molested or inappropriately touched anyone."

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.