Rabbi Barry Freundel Set for Court Date

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Sign up for Forwarding the News, our essential morning briefing with trusted, nonpartisan news and analysis, curated by Senior Writer Benyamin Cohen.
Rabbi Barry Freundel is expected to appear in a Washington D.C. court today to face charges he used a hidden camera to peep on women in the mikveh of his Orthodox synagogue.
The disgraced cleric faces six counts of voyeurism, a misdemeanor, and could face up to six years in prison.
Prosecutors might outline any additional charges at the hearing, and defense lawyers could push to have Freundel declared eligible for a program that would allow him to avoid jail time.
Freundel could also enter a formal plea to the charges or may push the judge to set a date for trial.
Police found a clock radio hidden in the shower of the mikveh at Georgetown’s Kesher Israel synagogue, the spiritual home of luminaries like Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and ex-Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
Authorities later found photos and videos of naked women in the mikveh on Freundel’s computer, officials said.
The scandal has triggered a major controversy in the Jewish world with rabbinic groups vowing to step up oversight of rabbis, especially those accused of misconduct and those who oversee converts, like Freundel did.