Rabbi Frederick “Ephraim” Karp (Photo: Cleveland Jewish News)
Rabbi Ephraim Karp, director of spiritual living at Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, was arrested in New York Jan. 15 on an active felony warrant from Maryland.
According to the Queens, N.Y., district attorney’s office, Karp has been charged by the state of Maryland with perverted practice, sex offense, sex abuse of a minor and sex abuse. He is listed in court records as Frederick M. Karp and a release from the Baltimore County Police Department linked the charges to the alleged abuse of a juvenile female over a period of time.
Karp, 50, was arrested at 9:25 p.m. Jan. 15 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as “a fugitive from justice” on the warrant issued by the District Court of Maryland, Baltimore County, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
He was arraigned Jan. 16 in Queens Criminal Court and has a hearing set for Jan. 22 in the same court. As of Jan. 21, he was in custody at the Anna M. Kross Correctional Facility in East Elmhurst, N.Y., according to the New York Department of Correction website. No public records existed for the case in Baltimore County courts.
Karp will likely be extradited to Maryland after his Jan. 22 court appearance because he faces charges there, said Ikimulisa Livingston, spokesperson for the Queens district attorney’s office. She said the crimes he is charged with probably occurred in Maryland.
Karp is president of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains, formerly known as the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, and was en route to the annual NAJC conference in Jerusalem at the time of his arrest, a spokesperson for Menorah Park said. The conference is set for Jan. 26 to Jan. 29.
In June 2013, the organization’s national board, which includes Karp, was at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown for a conference.
In a statement, however, Baltimore County Police said there was no evidence that any incidents of abuse occurred at any local Jewish facilities.
Steven R. Raichilson, executive director at Menorah Park, issued this statement Jan. 21:
“(Jan. 20), we learned that Rabbi Ephraim Karp has been charged in Baltimore County, Md., with a series of offenses accusing him of sex abuse that allegedly took place in Maryland. We do not have further details regarding the charges, but we continue to be assured by local authorities that there is no connection between these charges and Rabbi Karp’s work for Menorah Park.
“We were tremendously saddened by this development. Rabbi Karp joined us seven years ago with solid recommendations,” he continued. “We conducted a thorough background check and no issues or concerns surfaced during that process.”
Beachwood Police Chief Keith Winebrenner confirmed that police from Baltimore County came to Beachwood on Jan. 15 looking for Karp, but said he could not provide any more details.
“I know he was arrested in New York, but I don’t know what he was arrested for or if he has been charged with anything,” Winebrenner said. “It’s still under investigation.”
Karp, of Beachwood, came to Menorah Park in 2008. He is one of two full-time Orthodox rabbis in the nursing home’s spiritual living department.
Before coming to Menorah Park, he was community chaplain for seven years for the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County in New Jersey, where he founded its joint chaplaincy program.
Karp, who grew up on Long Island, N.Y., was ordained at the Ayshel Avraham Rabbinical Seminary in Spring Valley, N.Y., in 1998. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Master of Social Work in international and community development at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.
Ed Wittenberg writes for the Cleveland Jewish News.
What a sick thing for the first commentor to say. The police are not anti Semite for arresting a pediphile. Also my aunt used to work at Menorah Park in Cleveland and she said its a terrible place. Jews treat everyone not Jewish poorly. Just look at the holocaust they committed against the indigenous people of Palestine
What he is arrested for by secular authorities has no importance in the Jewish community. He is considered innocent there because secular law has no true authority over a Jew. This rabbi, like so many others, is a victim of an anti-semitic with hunt, no more.
The man committed a crime here on US soil. Our country was not founded by Jews, therefore all laws apply to all citizens regardless of sex, race, or creed. His case is not a rare one either and it doesn’t mean the cops are “anti-semites.” They are doing their jobs for crying out loud. This is becoming a sick trend and shouldn’t even be defended by the Jewish community. The anti Semite label is being over used and people are tired of it. It’s a nasty smear designed to allow Jews to run the show. Let’s just throw the cards on the table. When a Jew brags about their dominance in political and economical affairs, he is applauded by his own kindred but when a non Jew reinstates the above, he is considered an anti-semite. It is beyond ridiculous.
dina dmalcusa dina the law of the land is the law Moshe you are an am h
aaretz A sick person should be behind bars.Since when does K’lal
Yisrael support Cillul Hashem You to are a menuvil