Scholar’s son pleads not guilty to stealing identities

New York City lawyer Raphael Golb has pleaded not guilty to stealing identities and using them to try to discredit his father’s academic rivals on the Internet, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Golb is the son of controversial Dead Sea scrolls scholar Norman Golb at the University of Chicago, who, against common historical thought, contends the scrolls were written by Jewish scholars in Jerusalem. For more on the back story from The Chronicle, click here.

According to Manhattan’s district attorney, "Golb engaged in a systematic scheme on the Internet, using dozens of Internet aliases, in order to influence and affect debate on the Dead Sea Scrolls."

Defence lawyer Martin Garbus says the case is about free speech and that no crime was committed.

Judge Carol Berkman has set bond at $15,000 and ordered the 49-year-old to surrender his passport.