Dead Sea Scrolls defendant: No jail for now

Published July 21, 2014 8:15pm ET



NEW YORK (AP) — A blogger convicted of criminally impersonating his father’s academic rivals on the ancient subject of the Dead Sea Scrolls will stay out of jail for the time being.

Raphael (RAY’-fee-ehl) Golb was scheduled to start his two-month sentence on Tuesday. But a New York judge decided Monday to postpone it.

Golb hopes to remain free during appeal. More court papers are due by Aug. 25.

Golb said he merely used satire in support of his father, a University of Chicago professor.

An appeals court said a law used in some counts against him was unconstitutionally broad.

His attorney, Ronald Kuby, says Golb therefore is entitled to a new trial.

The scrolls contain the earliest known versions of portions of the Hebrew Bible.

Prosecutors had no immediate comment.