Past Allegations Surface against Georgetown Rabbi Accused of Voyeurism

DCist
October 20, 2014

http://dcist.com/2014/10/more_allegations_surface_against_ge.php

The Rabbinical Council of America—one of the top Modern Orthodox rabbinical councils—says that they know of past allegations against Rabbi Barry Freundel of Georgetown's Kesher Israel synagogue, who was arrested and charged for voyeurism last week.

According to the RCA, they knew about misconduct allegations against Freundel—none of them of a sexual nature—since at least 2012, according to a statement. The RCA says that they received complaints that conversation 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." It was also discovered that Freundel was to co-signer on a checking account with a conversion candidate, and that he had traveled by train to Chicago in a sleeper car with a woman who was not his wife.

Last week, Freundel pleaded not guilty to six counts of voyeurism for allegedly filming female members of his congregation while they showered in preparation for a spiritual ceremony.

"A committee of rabbis and lay leaders determined that while Rabbi Freundel’s actions were inappropriate (and were a violation of his position) they did not rise to a level that required him to be suspended from the RCA or to be removed from his work with converts, as long as they did not continue," the RCA said in a statement about the 2012 allegations. "While the RCA did not report these findings to the leadership of his congregation, Rabbi Freundel himself did inform his synagogue leadership of these meetings."

In response to the train ride allegations, the RCA said that "there being no supporting evidence or information for these critical and serious allegations, there was no fair way that the RCA could act on them. The RCA leadership, therefore, concluded that it could not proceed to its Vaad Hatzedek, or take any other significant action, given that there was no opportunity or due process."

The RCA has suspended Freundel as a result of the voyeurism allegations and is appointing a woman—or group of women—to serve as an ombudsman for every group of conversions assembled under the Geirus conversion process to "receive any concerns of female candidates to conversion."

Freundel is expected in court again on November 12.