Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Mikveh-Peep Rabbi Barry Freundel Secretly Videotaped at Least 150 Women, Prosecutors Say

Rabbi Barry Freundel secretly videotaped at least 150 women in the mikveh at his prominent Washington D.C. synagogue, prosectors reportedly told a meeting of alleged victims.

The disgraced Orthodox cleric has been criminally charged with peeping on six naked women in the ritual bath at Kesher Israel.

But prosecutors said the number of victims is far higher at a closed-door hearing, the Associated Press reported.

The AP quoted three separate sources who revealed details of the meeting at which the new information was disclosed. Prosecutors are discussing the possiblility of a plea deal and want to gauge the willingness of victims to testify about the potentially humiliating invasions of their privacy.

The revelation dramatically expands the scope of the legal problems facing Freundel. He faces misdemeanor voyeurism charges in connection with six of the women who have come forward to accuse him so far. But far more victims have been identified and could be added to the criminal case if prosecutors choose to do so.

The rabbi, who separated from his wife after the scandal broke, could also face a raft of civil suits.

Adding insult to injury, Freundel, who has been fired by the shul, has refused the move out of the pricey rabbi’s home provided to him by Kesher Israel.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.