Freundel prosecutors need more time to mull plea possibility

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(JTA) — Prosecutors investigating the case of Barry Freundel, the Washington rabbi accused of voyeurism, told a judge that they need more time before they can decide whether to offer a plea deal.

At a hearing Wednesday in D.C. Superior Court, prosecutors said they are still determining the total number of Freundel’s victims, the Washington Post reported.

Freundel, 62, was arrested in October for allegedly using hidden cameras to spy on women, including those whose conversions he was overseeing, while they were in the mikvah, or ritual bath. He has been charged with six counts of misdemeanor voyeurism and faces up to six years in prison.

Another hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Zubrensky said that her office is creating a website with information about the case in order to encourage any other Freundel victims to come forward.

Freundel has been suspended without pay from Kesher Israel, the modern Orthodox congregation he has led for more than two decades. He has also been suspended from Towson University, where he taught Judaic studies.

 

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