This story has been updated to include the sentence imposed.
A Jewish messianic rabbi in Washington state has been convicted of two charges of assault.
Isaac David Heckman, a self-proclaimed messianic rabbi at the Assembly of Called Out Believers, was found guilty by the jury on two of three charges. The jury trial was continued at least a dozen times, according to the Washington online case search portal.
The charges were for the assault of Maria Brunetto, an Italian immigrant with whom Heckman was romantically involved.
Brunetto met Heckman online in 2020 and moved in with Heckman later that year, according to an affidavit filed by an officer with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Department.
While Brunetto told the sheriffs there were many instances of violence, she specifically mentioned one on December 21, 2020, during a car ride home from visiting Heckman’s sister. She says Heckman punched her, pulled her hair, and threatened to leave her behind along the road.
She also reported an incident in January 2021 in which Heckman threatened her with a firearm, leaving her afraid for her life. Later in January, he assaulted her again, “banged her head on the ground,” and “put his foot on her face.”
At the trial, Heckman took the witness stand in his own defense. According to reporting by Dominick Bonny who attended the trial, Heckman claimed that Brunetto was out to get him because he refused to marry her and give her a child. He also claimed they never had a romantic relationship nor did she live with him.
The prosecution showed a “selfie” photo of the couple with Brunetto kissing Heckman’s cheek. Heckman claimed she “caught him by surprise.”
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During their questioning of Heckman, the prosecution asked about his ministry, online presence, and income, arguing that Heckman had a financial interest in keeping his followers unaware of the events with Brunetto.
During a break in the trial, Bonny spoke to Heckman’s neighbors, Dwayne and Donna Roduner. Dwayne Roduner said, “There was assault. There was battery. There was extortion, just for starters.”
When asked if they thought he was guilty, the neighbors said, “We know he is.”
After the jury found Heckman guilty, Bonny spoke to one juror on condition of anonymity. She said the jury felt he lied about “everything” but especially about the nature of the relationship.
Heckman was later sentenced to 14 months per count to be served concurrently, KPQ Radio reported. Additionally, the judge ordered Heckman to serve 18 months of community custody after his jail time and issued a 10 year no-contact order for his former partner.
The doctrine of Assembly of Called Out Believers is unorthodox given their statement of beliefs. The group does not believe in the doctrine of original sin.
The Assembly’s belief statements about the triune nature of God are concerning and confusing, Dr. Igal German, a Messianic Jewish apologist, told MinistryWatch in 2022. It includes declarations like “God does have Sons” and “God is Spirit and His Spirit is not a separate entity as many have erroneously taught but His very essence.”
After reviewing the statement of beliefs, German said, “From what I can tell, this would be a fringe Messianic-Jewish/Hebrew-Roots movement that upholds Torah observance and seems to have some issues with God’s tri-unity and so would be borderline cult-like in its beliefs.”
Heckman’s biographical information on the Assembly of Called Out Believers website says he is the founder of Serving Others Worldwide. The last year Serving Others Worldwide filed a Form 990 with the IRS was in 2019.
The Assembly of Called Out Believers YouTube channel has over 50,000 subscribers.
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