smerel: My comment was very much in context whereas you’ve taken it out of context. As you surely noticed, my comment was clearly labeled as a response to Avira. Avira wrote that Rabbi Berland was once a respected Rov who had mainstream supporters whereas Rabbi Helbrans was never respected by the mainstream Rabbonim. My comment refuted that, as I demonstrated the greatest Gedolei Hador publicly supported Rabbi Helbrans. Whatever the context of their support was, it certainly indicates he was not considered to be fringe.
That’s all said above without in any way accepting any of the unproven wild allegations, mostly made online. Repeating lies often enough in news stories certainly leads to some believing everything they read. There absolutely is nothing motzey shem ra because there’s nothing conceivably wrong with Rav Pam’s and 20 other Gedolim’s righteous support of R. Helbrans, who was in the right in that situation.
Regarding the details of the story from the early 1990s, you have a number of the details very incorrect. The bochor was just Bar Mitzvah when R. Helbrans was involved. The bochor was under 15 years old for the entire duration of the controversy. The bochor learnt in R. Helbrans Yeshiva. He originally boarded in his home. His parents were indeed dysfunctional and divorced and fighting and not religious. The bochor became religious around the time of his Bar Mitzvah through Rabbi Helbrans. That’s when his father wanted him to stop being religious and leave R. Helbrans Yeshiva. R. Helbrans instead put him with another family to hide him from his dysfunctional family who wanted to stop him from being religious. R. Helbrans was charged with kidnapping. And Rav Pam, the Bobover Rebbe, the Skulener Rebbe, the Melbourner, YBL”C Rav Schustel and over a dozen other Gedolim publicly supported Rabbi Helbrans.