Jessica Anderson, Ohio rabbi accused of sexually abusing Maryland girl, The Baltimore Sun
A rabbi from Ohio faces charges of sexually abusing a girl in Baltimore County, police said Thursday.
Frederick Martin Karp, 50, of the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, county police said in a news release. He was awaiting extradition to Maryland.
Police said they received information Dec. 31 that Karp had sexually abused a girl living in Baltimore County over a period of time. Detectives traveled to Cleveland last week to interview Karp.
Based on their investigation, police said, they obtained an arrest warrant charging Karp with second- and third-degree sex offense, perverted practice and sexual abuse of a minor.
When they returned to Karp’s home, police said, he was not there. He was later arrested at JFK.
According to the Cleveland Jewish News, Karp is president of the Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains, and served as director of spiritual living at a senior living center in Beachwood.
The newspaper said Karp was arrested Jan. 15 and was being held in New York pending an appearance Jan. 28 in Queens Criminal Court.
Gail Herman, an administrative assistant to the executive vice president of Neshama, said the association was aware of the charges, but declined to comment further. Neshama’s website continued to identify Ephraim Karp as the association’s president Thursday evening.
The Cleveland Jewish News reported that Neshama’s national board held a conference in Reisterstown in June 2013.
Baltimore County police said their investigation has not indicated that there were any incidents of abuse at Jewish facilities in the area.
Online court records do not show any previous criminal charges against Karp in Maryland.
The county’s Crimes Against Children Unit is investigating.
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