A former Newton rabbi has been arrested in Framingham, accused of offering a child money for sex.

Eric Gurvis, who lives in Sherborn and served as a rabbi at Temple Shalom in West Newton from 1999 to 2017, was arrested on Thursday in a Massachusetts State Police undercover operation in Framingham, along with Joseph Surya Chundra Ravi Kumar Eda of Milford and Joseph Norton of Framingham.

Norton is vice chair of Framingham’s Planning Board.

Police say the men thought they were making a deal for sex with a child, but they were actually communicating with undercover police officers.

All three men are charged with sexual conduct for a fee with a child, enticement of a child under the age of 16, and attempted rape of a child and have pleaded “not guilty.” They were each ordered held on $7,500 bail.

Erica Neufeld, president of the temple’s Board of Directors, sent out an email alerting members of the news and assuring members that the temple has had no affiliation with Gervis since he left eight years ago.

“We are not aware of any allegations against Rabbi Gurvis related to the time when he was affiliated with the Temple,” Neufeld wrote. “We understand this is nevertheless troubling news for our temple community—clergy are available for pastoral care and support for anyone who requests it.”

After he left Temple Shalom, according to a 2019 piece on Gurvis on JewishBoston.com, Gurvis—a father of four—was named a spiritual leader at Sha’arei Shalom in Ashland and as director of Chaverim and Community Engagement for The Mussar Institute.

Gurvis has served as president of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis. He’s also a past chair of the Newton Interfaith Clergy Council and a former member of the Newton Human Rights Commission.

Gurvis’s pages on both the Sha’arei Shalom website and the Mussar Institute website have been removed.