A student at Towson University says a rabbi accused of secretly recording women as they changed once invited her and her classmates to take a ritual bath during a tour of his synagogue in Georgetown.
Dr. Barry Freundel was the rabbi at the Kesher Israel Orthodox synagogue in Georgetown and also a professor of religion and ethics at Towson University. The student told the school's newspaper that Freundel invited her and her classmates to take a tour of his synagogue in Georgetown as an opportunity for extra credit.
Freundel is accused of installing a camera disguised as a digital clock radio in the showering and changing area of the National Capital Mikvah, which is affiliated with the synagogue. According to police, the camera was pointed at the shower, which is used as part of a ritual cleansing process.
According to the Towerlight, the student says while she declined his offer, the two others students with her accepted. Investigators say there is no evidence that students were secretly recorded, but they do want students who went on these unauthorized field trips to contact law enforcement.
The Rabbinical Council disclosed other allegations of questionable behavior by Freundel:
- In 2013, an allegation that he took a train ride in a sleeping car to Chicago with a woman other than his wife
- In 2012, an allegation that conversion candidates complained they were forced to perform clerical work for him
- In 2012, an allegation that he ended up as a cosigner on one of the conversion candidate's checking accounts
Freundel was released on his own recognizance last week under the conditions he stay away from the victims, the temple and the mikvah where, according to the police report, at least six women were photographed. He has been charged with six counts of voyeurism.
