A Connecticut rabbi was found guilty on all four counts related to sexually assaulting a minor that could result in a maximum 80-year prison sentence.
Rabbi Daniel Greer, 79, had been a long-respected rabbi in New Haven who has been credited with revitalizing the Edgewood neighborhood.
However, prosecutors said that between 2002 and 2003, he repeatedly had illegal sexual encounters with Eliyahu Mirlis, then 15, at Yeshiva New Haven, which Greer had founded, taught at and served as dean.
Mirlis said that Greer had sexually assaulted him on school property, at the Greer home, and at motels in Connecticut and in Pennsylvania.
In 2017, Mirlis, now 31, and currently residing in New Jersey, was awarded a $15 million civil lawsuit against Greer and the school. The award is currently being appealed.
Mirlis considered Greer as a “father figure” and kept quiet about the illegal interactions until he told his future wife in 2005. He said he didn’t think that anyone would believe him.
Greer was also originally charged with four counts of second-degree sexual assault—charges that were dismissed because the state’s statute of limitations expired.
Following the jury announcing the verdict, Greer’s wife, Sarah, demonstrated little emotion, though attempted to talk to him before he was led off in handcuffs.
Greer paid a $750,000 bond, and was required to wear an ankle monitor and give up his passport. He is currently under home confinement.
Dow said his client plans to appeal the verdict.