October 23, 2015 by Richard Edmondson
Rabbi Ephraim (Frederick) Karp
Rabbi Ephraim (Frederick) Karp was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and five years of supervised probation upon his release, after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of a minor and a third-degree sex offense Oct. 15 in Baltimore County Circuit Court in Maryland.
Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Robert E. Cahill Jr. sentenced Karp to 35 years, with all but 22 suspended.
Karp, 51, is former director of spiritual living at Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Beachwood.
Baltimore County Prosecutor Lisa Dever, chief of the sex offense and child abuse division in the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, said the state was asking for a 35-year sentence for Karp, with all but five to be served in prison.
“We believed he deserved to go to prison for 30 years, based on the fact that two of the three victims in this case were under 18 at the time the events occurred,” Dever said. “But I feel based on the information that the judge had heard from both the defense and the state, the sentences are reasonable sentences.”
Dever said the third victim was 18 or over at the time of the events. She said all three victims were females, but she would not disclose their ages.
Dever said the plea included charges from Cleveland based on events that allegedly occurred at Karp’s home in Beachwood. She said all three victims lived in Baltimore County at the time of the events.
“Cleveland agreed we could take the lead on the prosecution and that we would encompass their events in our plea,” she said.
A criminal trial for Karp had been scheduled for Oct. 28.
Karp was indicted Feb. 23 by the state’s attorney’s office for Baltimore County on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, continuing course of conduct; perverted practice and second- and third-degree sex offenses.
The state’s attorney’s office reported in January that from July 4, 2009, to Dec. 10, 2014, Karp visited a family that he was friendly with in Baltimore County. During those visits, Karp sexually assaulted a minor female, the office stated.
Karp was president of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains until being suspended from that position in January. His employment status at Menorah Park was terminated this summer.
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