Rabbi Suspended from Towson University Amid 'Peeping' Allegations

By Mary Ann Barton and Elizabeth Janney

Towson University recently suspended an associate professor after he was accused of voyeurism at a Georgetown synagogue, according to Towson University student newspaper The Towerlight. Now, the university is looking into whether its students may have been victims.

Rabbi Barry Freundel, 62, taught in the philosophy and religious studies program at Towson University, the paper reported.

Freundel, who has been the spiritual leader of Georgetown synagogue Kesher Israel since 1989, was charged with voyeurism by DC’s Metropolitan Police Department on Oct. 14, Washingtonian magazine reported.

The charges came after someone noticed a clock containing a hidden camera in the synagogue’s mikvah, or bath area, according to The Washington Post.

In his role as an instructor at Towson, Freundel reportedly invited students to visit his Georgetown synagogue for field trips as supplements to their studies. Once there, he invited some students to use the mikvah; at least six Towson students accepted in the last year, according to The Washington Post.

One Towson student told The Towerlight that Freundel offered the experience as “a special opportunity, something that you wouldn’t be able to participate in every day,” since the rabbi said the mikvah was “kind of a rarity” in synagogues.

A Towson University spokesman said that while “we encourage our faculty to create off-campus learning activities ... the mikvah portion of a class trip is something we would not have condoned or sanctioned had we known about it,” Washington Jewish Week reported.

After the rabbi was arrested, Towson University suspended Freundel with pay in accordance with the state university system’s requirements and launched its own investigation into the matter, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Freundel’s office at Towson was searched by police Tuesday and he has been barred from campus, The Washington Post reports.

When the charges were brought against him, the rabbi was taken away from his D.C. home Oct. 14 in handcuffs, as police officers carried computer equipment from his residence, Washingtonian noted.

Freundel has since been released and pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to The Baltimore Sun. He is reportedly due back in court for a hearing on Nov. 12.

If Towson students or alumni are concerned that they may have been victims, they may contact Towson University Police at 410-704-2134, according to The Towerlight, which said the university was cooperating with DC police in the investigation. The university is also reportedly offering counseling services to students.

Related: Georgetown Rabbi Arrested for Alleged Voyeurism