On October 14, 20014, prominent D.C. Rabbi and religious scholar Barry Freundel was arrested by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and charged with various offenses relating to voyeurism. According to charging documents, Rabbi Freundel installed recording devices in the changing/shower area connected to a Jewish ritual bath known as a “mikvah.”

Rabbi Freundel was affiliated with Kesher Israel in Washington, D.C., he was a Jewish studies professor at Georgetown Law and he served on the faculty at Towson University in Maryland. Preliminary information suggests Rabbi Freundel encouraged his female students to participate in the mikvah and thousands of women who used the mikvah face the very real prospect that Rabbi Freundel captured and/or distributed the women’s images without their knowledge or consent. Media accounts indicate that several of the institutions with which Rabbi Freundel was affiliated are currently investigating other potential misconduct and MPD’s investigation in that regard is ongoing.

Silverman Thompson (STSW) is in the process of investigating the potential criminal and civil liability flowing from Rabbi Freundel’s conduct on behalf of several potential victims. If you believe you may be a victim of Rabbi Freundel, you have important rights in the criminal process that STSW’s victims’ rights attorneys can help you protect. In addition, you have the right to seek a financial recovery against an array of individuals and entities that may be held liable for Rabbi Freundel’s acts. Many of these rights are time-sensitive and it is imperative that you immediately seek competent legal representation.

STSW is a national leader in representing victims of sexual exploitation through video voyeurism:

 STSW played a major role in securing an historic $190 million settlement
against Johns Hopkins Hospital on behalf of patients who were illegally videotaped
by their gynecologist. Read more about that case here.

 STSW brought a groundbreaking case on behalf of two young Maryland girls
against individuals responsible for viewing and distributing an Internet “series”
depicting the violent rape of the girls when they were just 3 and 5 years old. Read
more about that case here.

 STSW is currently handling a case against American Eagle Outfitters on behalf of
a female customer who was unlawfully photographed by a criminal perpetrator
while she was changing in an American Eagle fitting room. The case is pending in
the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

 STSW obtained a substantial settlement on behalf of a Virginia-based teenager
who was illegally videotaped at a post-prom party being thrown by the billionaire
co-founder of America Online.

In each of these cases, STSW ensured our clients’ names were never revealed in the criminal or civil process by suing under pseudonyms and by requiring the use of pseudonyms, initials and/or redacting in the criminal proceedings. STSW also has a proven track record protecting victims’ privacy by resisting intrusive requests for victims’ counseling records unrelated medical records and other private information. Further, STSW has developed relationships with some of the leading experts in treating the trauma associated with sexual exploitation of video voyeurism and we partner with these experts to minimize secondary trauma and to help our clients heal.

If you believe you may be the victim of Rabbi Freundel, please contact the Maryland personal injury lawyers of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White, LLC. or contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786 for a free consultation.