Mikveh-Peep Rabbi Barry Freundel Secretly Videotaped at Least 150 Women, Prosecutors Say
Rabbi Barry Freundel secretly videotaped at least 150 women in the mikveh at his prominent Washington D.C. synagogue, prosectors reportedly told a meeting of alleged victims.
The disgraced Orthodox cleric has been criminally charged with peeping on six naked women in the ritual bath at Kesher Israel.
But prosecutors said the number of victims is far higher at a closed-door hearing, the Associated Press reported.
The AP quoted three separate sources who revealed details of the meeting at which the new information was disclosed. Prosecutors are discussing the possiblility of a plea deal and want to gauge the willingness of victims to testify about the potentially humiliating invasions of their privacy.
The revelation dramatically expands the scope of the legal problems facing Freundel. He faces misdemeanor voyeurism charges in connection with six of the women who have come forward to accuse him so far. But far more victims have been identified and could be added to the criminal case if prosecutors choose to do so.
The rabbi, who separated from his wife after the scandal broke, could also face a raft of civil suits.
Adding insult to injury, Freundel, who has been fired by the shul, has refused the move out of the pricey rabbi’s home provided to him by Kesher Israel.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
