Former Towson Professor Challenges Sentence for Voyeurism

By Elizabeth Janney
The Patch
July 31, 2015

http://patch.com/maryland/towson/former-towson-professor-challenges-sentence-voyeurism-0


The Georgetown rabbi sentenced to more than six years in jail for voyeurism is arguing the sentence is illegal.

Rabbi Barry Freundel admitted he planted recording devices in the changing room for a mikvah, or sacred bath, in Georgetown between 2012 and 2014, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Freundel led Kesher Israel synagogue in Georgetown and taught at Georgetown and Towson universities. Those he recorded on field trips to the National Capital Mikvah allegedly included former students.

After Freundel pleaded guilty to 52 counts of voyeurism, he was sentenced in D.C. Superior Court to 45 days for each of the offenses, to be served consecutively. The total sentence is a little less than 6.5 years.

At sentencing the judge called Fruendel’s actions “a classic abuse of power and violation of trust,” the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia reported.

Now Freundel is arguing that he should be sentenced for one offense, not each individual victim.

In court filings, the U.S. Attorney has countered that this is a misinterpretation of the law, which is written to protect “an individual” being recorded, and noted it is not standard to merge sentences for crimes that have different victims. In addition, the U.S. Attorney said Freundel agreed to plead guilty to 52 counts.

“The government notes that it is unusual that the defendant agreed to the statutory maximum [up to 52 years], did not raise the merger issue in his sentencing submission, and only at sentencing after being sentenced to a term of incarceration over one year did he raise the issue orally that any sentence over one year constitutes an ’illegal’ sentence,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney.

This is the second court filing from Freundel since his May sentencing.

In June, Freundel applied to be transferred from the District of Columbia jail where he was serving his time. The jail houses inmates serving less than a year for misdemeanor offenses, which was inconsistent with the length of his sentence, according to court filings. Freundel’s attorney also stated that there were no religious programs for rehabilitation and orthodox Judaism offered there.

In June, a judge ordered Freundel be transferred to the Federal Correctional Institute in Miami or Otisville, NY, both of which offer religious rehabilitative programs, according to court filings.

A hearing about the legality of Freundel’s sentence is slated for D.C. Superior Court at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, July 31.