$14.25 Million Settlement for Women Secretly Recorded at DC Mikvah by Rabbi Barry Freundel

For almost ten years, Rabbi Barry Freundel placed hidden cameras inside dressing areas at the National Capital Mikvah in Washington, DC, recording women without their knowledge or consent as they used the religious bath. Freundel, the senior rabbi at Kesher Israel Congregation in Georgetown, concealed recording devices inside ordinary objects including a clock radio, a fan, and a tissue box holder. Prosecutors documented roughly 150 victims. In October 2014, a mikvah cleaning worker discovered one of the devices, and Freundel was arrested shortly after.

In February 2015, Freundel pleaded guilty to 52 counts of misdemeanor voyeurism. A DC Superior Court judge sentenced him to six and a half years in prison in May 2015. The recordings spanned from July 2005 through October 2014, meaning some women were filmed repeatedly over many years.

Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel filed the original civil class action in DC Superior Court in December 2014, naming Kesher Israel Congregation, the National Capital Mikvah, the Rabbinical Council of America, and the Beth Din of America as defendants. The suit alleged the institutions failed to detect or prevent Freundel's conduct despite years of opportunity to do so. After multiple consolidated filings and the court appointing Sanford Heisler as lead class counsel in June 2016, Chaikin Sherman continued as co-counsel driving the case toward resolution. Attorneys Ira Sherman and Joseph Cammarata of the firm represented the plaintiff class throughout.

The parties announced a settlement on August 28, 2018. The four defendant organizations, through their insurer Travelers, agreed to pay $14.25 million, down from the class's original $100 million demand. Women confirmed as videotaped received a base payment of at least $25,000 each. Women who used the mikvah during the recording period but were not confirmed as recorded received at least $2,500. Additional compensation was available based on the number of times a woman was filmed, interference with religious conversion, and documented emotional or psychological harm. The DC Superior Court granted final approval of the settlement on October 22, 2018. All four defendant organizations denied wrongdoing as part of the agreement.