Renee Hoberman, Plainview child therapist charged with distributing sexually explicit videos of children, waives right to speedy trial

The Long Island child therapist accused of distributing sexually explicit videos of children waived her right to a speedy trial at a hearing in federal court in Central Islip to give her attorney time to review evidence provided by prosecutors.

Renee Hoberman, 36, exchanged glances with her parents before and after Wednesday’s brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert.

Hoberman’s attorney, Evan Sugar, declined to comment after the hearing. Her parents, identified in court by Sugar, also declined to speak about their daughter or the charges.

Seybert ordered Hoberman, of Plainview, to return to court on Feb. 21.

Hoberman pleaded not guilty to a single count of distribution of sexually explicit videos of children at her arraignment in October. U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay ordered her held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Hoberman was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations and Nassau police on Oct. 23, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Hoberman, who also goes by the first name Rina, worked as a therapist for LifeStance Health in Melville, where she advertised that she worked with children up to age 17.

According to court papers, Hoberman used social media between June and October to upload videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The videos recorded infants as young as six months to one year of age being physically restrained and raped by adult males. The children, prosecutors said, screamed and cried throughout the duration of the videos.

Hoberman uploaded child sexual abuse materials and engaged in multiple chats concerning child sexual abuse, prosecutors said. Hoberman posed as an adult male and bragged online about sexually abusing his own children. Hoberman also sent two videos presented as the man sexually abusing the kids, and invited others to come to New York to abuse the kids themselves.

Hoberman received a bachelor's degree in sociology in 2011 and her master's in social work in 2015, according to an online biography, which adds that she has experience working with children under 12 and has interned in elementary schools. She received her license as a master social worker in October 2015, according to a New York State Education Department database.

Eastern District of New York officials asked anyone with information about alleged sexual exploitation by Hoberman to contact Homeland Security Investigations at 877-4-HSI-TIP or at the agency’s website https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.