Via Barry Freundel, the prominent Georgetown rabbi who was caught videotaping women in a ritual bathing area, has pleaded guilty to 52 counts of voyeurism.
Freundel was arrested back in October after it was discovered that he had hidden cameras set up in a room for people to prepare for a mikvah; a spiritual bath in the Orthodox community. At the time, he was charged with six counts of voyeurism, but that’s since ballooned into a much larger number as investigators worked to uncover the depth of his crime.
Since his arrest, Freundel—who was considered a prominent figure as the rabbi of Georgetown’s Kesher Israel—has been fired from his position, involved in a lawsuit from one of his victims, and kicked out of the synagogue-owned house he lives in (though he refuses to leave).
Though Freundel faces 52 charges of voyeurism, the Post reports that prosecutors “said there may be as many as 150 women allegedly videotaped by the rabbi as they prepared for a private bath know as a mikvah.”
“Bernard Freundel exploited his position of power to victimize dozens of women who entered a sacred, intimate space of religious ritual,” U.S. Attorney Ron Machen said in a statement. “He betrayed the trust of every woman whose private moments he caught on camera along with an entire community that counted on him for moral leadership. We hope that this guilty plea will allow each of his victims to move forward and heal. We will be seeking a prison sentence that reflects the gravity of this disturbing assault on the privacy and dignity of so many victims.”
Freundel’s sentencing is scheduled for May 15 and he faces up to a year in prison for each count of voyeurism.
