WASHINGTON (DC)
DCist
Authorities investigating Barry Freundel, the Rabbi at Georgetown’s Kesher Israel synagogue, accused of voyeurism, have set up a hotline number and email for any potential victims to come forward.
The Post reports that Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said today that “the investigation is expected to take a long time as forensic experts comb through computer storage devices seized in the case.” Freundel was arrested on October 14 after it was discovered that he had set up hidden cameras in a room where people change and shower in preparation for a mikveh. The number that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has set up is 202-252-7585, and an email address has also been set up.
Police found images of at least six members of Freundel’s congregation and has been charged on six counts of voyeurism. Since then, the Rabbinical Council of America released reports of past allegations against Freundel, including conversion candidates who felt “coerced to perform clerical work for him in his home office (there is no office at the synagogue) and to contribute financially,” as well as a trip Freundel took to Chicago in a sleeper train with a woman who was not his wife.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.