Ohio Rabbi Extradited to Maryland, Bail Set at $500K

The Ohio rabbi charged with child sex abuse in Baltimore County is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center, police said.

Frederick Martin Karp, 50, is charged with sexual abuse of a minor (continuing course of conduct), perverted practice, second-degree sex offense and third-degree sex offense, according to police.

Karp, who lives in Beachwood, Ohio, was friends with a Baltimore County family, where he would stay on occasion, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The girl was a member of that family, and the abuse allegedly started in July 2009—when she was 7 years old—and continued until December 2014, when her two sisters came forward, according to WBAL, which reported they also said Karp inappropriately touched them.

Related: Rabbi Charged with Sex Offenses Involving Baltimore County Girl

After Baltimore County police were notified Dec. 31 of the allegations, detectives traveled to Ohio Jan. 14 to interview Karp, the Baltimore Jewish Times reported.

When they returned the following day to arrest him, police said Karp was gone. He was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jan. 15 after Baltimore County issued a felony warrant for his arrest.

Upon his extradition from New York on Wednesday, Jan. 28, Karp was being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on $5 million bail, according to the Baltimore County Police Department.

As the result of a bail review hearing on Thursday, bail was reduced to $500,000, The Baltimore Sun reported.

At the hearing, the state argued that Karp was a flight risk, given the trip to the airport, while Karp’s attorney said that he had been planning the trip to Israel for months, the Baltimore Jewish Times reported.

There was documentation supporting the claim, according to WBAL, which reported Karp was ordered to surrender his passport.

While Baltimore County police would not disclose specifics, the department said in a statement: “The investigation so far has not indicated that there were any incidents of abuse at a Baltimore area Jewish facility.”

Booking photo of Frederick Martin Karp courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Department.