Rabbi facing voyeurism charges ordered not to leave country

By Maureen Umeh
Fox 5
November 12, 2014

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/27361393/rabbi-facing-voyeurism-charges-in-court-wednesday

WASHINGTON -

A prominent D.C. rabbi charged with six counts of voyeurism was in court on Wednesday for a status hearing.

Barry Freundel was ordered not to leave the country and the judge set his next court date for January 16.

Police say Freundel set up hidden cameras inside a sacred synagogue shower and captured video of women preparing for a ritual bath in various stages of undress.

Outside D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday, a couple of women who say they were victims and their lawyers spoke out. They revealed what they say was going on inside at what they thought was a sacred place.

Inside the courtroom, Freundel sat with his head down. Prosecutors asked for more time to gather information and indicated they may seek a plea deal.

As the case progresses, more women are coming forward, and a civil suit against the rabbi is now taking shape.

“He treated that mikveh like a car wash,” said Lisette Garcia. “Every Sunday, six students at a time.”

She says there could be as many as 1,000 women victimized by Rabbi Freundel's voyeurism. Garcia joined the Kesher Israel synagogue last summer and became a hospitality coordinator.

She says Freundel would send women converting to Judaism to her for help in preparing them for a sacred ritual bath known as the mikveh.

Over time, Garcia says she got the feeling something just wasn't right.

“I had no idea that there was anything to do with a camera,” she said. “He did leer at women a lot. He did look at them inappropriately. I never saw him touch one or I never saw him close to them, but he did leer at them quite a bit.”

Garcia says the mikveh isn't just part of a conversion. It is also a kosher place to find healing following a trauma. She says Freundel insisted as much.

“He went on about how people use it for healing purposes and for people after sexual trauma, and people who maybe had abortions,” said Garcia. “And to think that he was using those visits to turn around and sexually traumatize others, it's disgusting. It's nasty.”

“These are fragile personalities who were the victims of a crime at a time that was most sacred in their lives,” said Ira Sherman.

Sherman and Joseph Cammarata say they represent two women who have yet to be identified as additional victims in the criminal case. They are currently pursuing a civil case against Freundel.

“Supposedly a holy man who turned something that was pure and sacred into an instance into something that's pornographic,” said Cammarata.

Police at this point are still working to identify the women in the video. They are asking the victims for head shots to match their faces to those they see on the video.