Sentence Upheld for Ex-georgetown Rabbi

WUSA
July 31, 2015

http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/dc/2015/07/31/barry-freundel-claims-sentence-was-illegal/30925363/

Rabbi Barry Freundel talks on the phone while walking away from court on Jan. 16, 2015

Friday, a judge upheld the sentence of a former Georgetown rabbi convicted of voyeurism.

Barry Freundel admitted to secretly videotaping dozens of women while they were disrobing for a ritual bath, called a mikvah, at Kesher Israel in Georgetown.

He pleaded guilty to 52 counts, one count for each of the victims, and was sentenced to 45 days behind bars for each count. That adds up to six and a half years.

The rabbi appeared in court on Friday with his lawyers to argue that the terms of his six and a half year sentence were illegal. A judge, however, upheld his sentence.

The legal loophole they argued was that the specific law dealing with videotaping is unclear and, therefore, subject to the rule of leniency. A judge, however, denied the motion and upheld the Rabbi's sentence.

"We think the judge was wrong, it was pretty obvious to me that he had made his decision before he had even come on to the bench today," said Rabbi Freundel's lawyer Jeffrey Harris.

Harris is filing an appeal. Meanwhile, Harris says the 52 consecutive misdemeanor sentences mean Freundel will serve all his time in the D.C. jail, rather than a federal prison, It's a unique circumstance that Harris says will prevent the Rabbi from seeing his family in person, eating kosher food, and practicing his Orthodox religion.

"Frankly, terrorists in Guantanamo Bay who are Muslims have more accommodation made for them to practice their religion than the Rabbi does," Harris added.