Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Rabbi Pleads Guilty To Voyeurism

Barry Freundel, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the Georgetown neighborhood who also taught at Georgetown University Law Center until last year, pleaded guilty to 52 counts of misdemeanor voyeurism Thursday and will face sentencing in May.

Freundel, 62, was arrested Oct. 14 for placing recording devices at the women’s private baths at National Capital Mikvah, which is adjacent to the Kesher Israel Orthodox synagogue in Georgetown where Freundel served as rabbi.

The initial investigation, which charged Freundel with six counts of voyeurism, prompted more victims to come forward. According to The Times of Israel, prosecutors unearthed more videos in Freundel’s possession, in which the rabbi observed a total of 152 women. Due to statutes of limitations and difficulty identifying the people in the videos, Freundel was charged with only 52 counts of voyeurism.

“Bernard Freundel exploited his position of power to victimize dozens of women who entered a sacred, intimate space of religious ritual,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald Machen said in a press release. “He betrayed the trust of every woman whose private moments he caught on camera along with an entire community that counted on him for moral leadership.”

Each count carries a maximum sentence of one year of incarceration, a $2,500 fine, or both, which could set Freundel’s final sentence at 52 years. The U.S. Attorney’s office will seek a heavy sentence at the hearing May 15.

“We hope that this guilty plea will allow each of his victims to move forward and heal. We will be seeking a prison sentence that reflects the gravity of this disturbing assault on the privacy and dignity of so many victims,” Machen said.

In addition to his position as a rabbi in the Georgetown neighborhood, Freundel was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he had taught a course on Jewish law since the early 1990s. He last co-taught a seminar in the spring of 2014.

An unnamed third-year law student, who said the rabbi lured her to the private baths, filed a lawsuit against the university in December for hiring the rabbi without a sufficient background check. The lawsuit is pending.

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