I think he can. I believe that anyone who is sincere in their regret and expresses remorse about any sin they committed and commits never to do it again, is indeed forgiven by God. That is what Teshuva is all about.
There is however one very important condition upon which God accepts Teshuva - when that transgression is in the area of Bein Adam L’Chavero - man and his fellow man.God does not accept Teshuva in such cases unless sincere remorseful contrition is expressed to their victims and forgiveness is asked of them first. Only when he is forgiven by them can one ask for forgiveness from God.
This brings me to a story about Baruch Lanner - one of the more notorious sexual abusers of modern times. JTA recently reported that Lanner has applied for and has been granted residency status by the State of Israel. For those unfamiliar with the name, here is a brief description:
In 2000, an investigative series published in The Jewish Week alleged that Lanner had physically and sexually abused young people for decades. Lanner resigned the day after it was published.The story, "Stolen Innocence," later won an award for "meritorious journalism."
An investigation was conducted by the Orthodox Union (OU). The investigating committee, headed by then-Hillel President Richard Joel, spent over $1 million interviewing more than 140 people and issued a 330-page report detailing the abuse. The report alleged that Lanner had physically, sexually and emotionally abused dozens of teenagers, including fondling girls and kneeing boys in the groin, and that the abuse had begun in 1970. As a result of the report, the executive vice president of the OU, Rabbi Raphael Butler, resigned. He had been criticized for failing to act on earlier complaints.
Lanner was convicted in 2002 of sexually abusing two teenage girls who attended the religious school where he had been principal, and sentenced to seven years in prison. An appeals court dismissed one of the child endangerment charges in 2005. He was released on parole on January 10, 2008, and was given parole for four years.
This has generated outrage by his victims, victim’s advocates, and just about anyone familiar with the case. Rightfully so. Any time a sexual abuser is granted rights that should only be given to honorable people it adds more suffering to his victims and is a cause for anguish and protest.
The question here is whether Lanner ever did real Teshuva. Did he approach all (or even any) of his victims, express sincere remorse, and ask their forgiveness?
I have no idea but to the best of my knowledge he did not. While it is true that he served his time for crimes he committed, I wonder how many more victims there were for which he was neither tried nor convicted.
So, as far as I am concerned he deserves the scorn he is currently getting. And Israel deserves the public anger being expressed in granting him and his second wife residency status. (How anyone could marry a man like this is beyond me. But I digress.)
I mention all of this because I have a sense that victims advocates have no sense of forgiveness for any abuser no matter whether he does real Teshuva or not.
I agree with the anger and disgust heaped at anyone that has done the kind of things Lanner did. But what if he actually did sincere Bein Adam L’Chavero Teshuva? Would they still feel the same way? I hope I’m wrong but my sense is that they would. My sense is that they do not see Teshuva possible for a sexual abuser under any circumstances. And that is troubling.
I understand that doing sincere Teshuva does not take away the mental anguish a victim suffers - sometimes the psychological damage can last a lifetime. I can’t really blame them for feeling that way and never forgiving their abuser no matter how remorseful and how sincere the apology.
But on objective level I have to believe that people can change. If his Bein Adam L’Chavero Teshuva is sincere and there has never again been any abusive behavior., he should be able to live out his life in relative peace without being persecuted. A life that will surely include his own a sense of shame and regret for the rest of his life.
Like I said, I don’t believe Lanner ever came near approaching real Teshuva and deserves all the public outrage he is getting, But if he did, shouldn’t he be left alone? I think so.