A 40-year-old chef who appeared on Food Network’s “Chopped” is arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse a year after he was sued by women who claimed he abused them when they were minors.
- Shalom “Sal” Yehudiel, 40, is accused of sexually abusing a child in Teaneck, New Jersey.
- He is accused of repeated sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16.
- According to NJ.com, the arrest came as a result of a months-long FBI investigation.
- Yehudiel appeared on Chopped in 2020; he did not win, but was honored by the Jewish community in northern New Jersey.
- Last year, he was sued by two women who claimed he had raped them.
- One was a waitress who said he forced her to perform oral sex on her when she was 17 and worked for him.
- Another said he pushed her against a wall and kissed her when she was 15.
- It remains unclear whether one of these women was involved in his arrest.
A New Jersey chef who appeared on the 2020 Food Network show Chopped has been arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse a year after he was sued by two women who say he forced them to themselves when they were minors.
Shalom “Sal” Yehudiel, 40, is accused of sexually abusing a child in Teaneck, New Jersey. The alleged crime was reported to the Bergen County Attorney’s Office last November, around the same time that the two women sued him.
Among these women was a former waitress who worked at his restaurant The Humble Toast. She said she worked for him when she was 17 when he forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Another woman claimed that he abused her when she was 15 years old. It is unclear whether the woman in this trial is the same person who participated in the assault for which he is now arrested.
Yehudiel is from Israel, married and has small children. He has two restaurants in New Jersey – The Humble Toast and La Cucina Di Nava.
Shalom “Sal” Yehudiel, 40, is accused of sexually abusing a child in Teaneck, New Jersey. The alleged crime was reported to the Bergen County Attorney’s Office last November, around the same time that the two women sued him.
Yehudiel is from Israel, married and has at least one daughter. He has two restaurants in New Jersey – The Humble Toast and La Cucina Di Nava. He is pictured with his wife
The Humble Toast, a chef’s deli in Teaneck, New Jersey. He also runs an Italian restaurant.
He has not yet commented on the allegations, but denied the women’s claims at the time.
It is not yet clear when Jehudiel is due to stand trial next. He is being held at the Bergen County Jail.
Yehudiel has not yet commented on his arrest. He remains in custody
Last year, Yehudiel was sued by a woman who claimed he forced her to perform oral sex on him while she was working as a waitress at The Humble Toast.
She said she was 18 at the time and he allegedly made obscene comments to her several times.
He denied her allegations and those of another woman who said he abused her when she was 15 years old.
At the time, he said that two women had tried to extort money from him.
However, the controversy prompted a boycott of his restaurant, where protesters with placards appeared last year.
He retired from day-to-day management of the restaurant.
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