Prominent U.S. Rabbi Barry Freundel Arrested, Charged With Voyeurism
Rabbi Barry Freundel counts Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and former senator Joe Lieberman among his congregants at Kesher Israel synagogue.
Prominent Washington rabbi Barry Freundel was arrested and charged with voyeurism on Tuesday morning, The Washington Post reported.
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A reporter with Washington D.C.’s local Fox television station reported on Twitter that Freundel was arrested for “electronic voyeurism” and “had cameras in ladies rooms.”
Another news website, the Washingtonian, cited eyewitnesses as saying that Freundel was led away in handcuffs while police searched his house, at 30th and O streets, Northwest. They were later observed removing computers and other items from the house.
Police confirmed that the arrest took place during a search of his home, about five blocks from the synagogue, according to the Post.Freundel is the rabbi of Kesher Israel congregation in Washington DC, vice-President of the Vaad of Washington and head of the conversion committee of the Rabbinical Council of America.
He has taught at Baltimore Hebrew University, the University of Maryland and Georgetown University School of Law and has served as a consultant to the National Institutes of Health on ethical issues.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and former senator Joe Lieberman are among the many influential members of the Kesher Israel congregation, which Freundel has headed since 1989.