reports, not others) had been hired by the preschool in March 2016, and was placed on administrative leave in August 2016 and fired in October 2018. The D.C. Metropolitan Police and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia concluded a 16-month criminal investigation of the alleged abuser in January 2020, closing the case without filing any charges. A police statement explained that "after exhausting all investigative avenues, the universal determination of the investigative team was that there was insufficient probable cause to establish that an offense occurred or to make an arrest." In contrast, the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education stated, in a June 2019 cease-and desist letter to the congregation as reported by CNN, that it found that "more than one child was a victim of sexual abuse by the alleged maltreator." The office determined that the preschool failed to ensure the safety of children under its care, failed to properly supervise children, and failed to comply with reporting requirements. The D.C. Attorney General's Office was also reportedly investigating the allegations. In April 2019, some parents of alleged victims filed a civil lawsuit against the congregation and Deborah “DJ” Schneider Jensen, head of school for early childhood education, alleging that they were negligent amid “systemic, regular sexual abuse.” Jensen was placed on administrative leave in April 2019, and subsequently left the center. According to a February 2020 report, that case was scheduled to go to trial in early 2021. Another group of parents filed a separate civil lawsuit in May 2019. Antisemitic graffiti In October 2019 the synagogue was vandalized with graffiti including, according to the police report, “numerous anti-Semitic statements, profane language, and child-like drawings of male and female genitalia.” This incident was one among several antisemitic hate crimes targeting that synagogue, as well as others in the region. References Bibliography Jewish Encyclopedia article on Washington D.C. congregations Raphael, Marc Lee. Towards a "national shrine": a centennial history of Washington Hebrew Congregation 1855-1955 (Williamsburg, Va.: Dept. of Religious Studies, College of William and Mary, 2005); no ISBN. External links Washington Hebrew Congregation history Washington Hebrew Congregation history (old version, cached) 1852 establishments in Washington, D.C. Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Washington, D.C. Classical Reform Judaism German-Jewish culture in the United States Reform synagogues in Washington, D.C. Religious organizations established in 1852 Synagogues in Washington, D.C. Child sexual abuse in the United States