WASHINGTON (DC)
JTA
By Suzanne Pollak and Geoffrey W. MeladaFebruary 19, 2015
WASHINGTON (Washington Jewish Week) — Rabbi Barry Freundel, the former spiritual leader at a prominent Washington synagogue, pleaded guilty to 52 counts of misdemeanor voyeurism.
The plea Thursday means that Freundel could be sentenced to a maximum penalty of 52 years of incarceration and ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Sentencing was postponed until Friday, May 15.
The afternoon hearing was moved to a larger courtroom that could handle the number of victims.
During the hearing, Freundel appeared red-faced and kept his head bowed low and made no eye contact with the more than a dozen victims who packed the second floor courtroom. He wore a black fur hat, a black rumpled and dirty suit, a black and gray tie and a black and gray kippah.
Freundel, 63, was arrested last October on six charges of voyeurism after investigators discovered secret cameras installed in the mikvah shower room and additional recording devices in his home.
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.