Paul Bass Photo
Rabbi Greer.
A second former student of a prominent New Haven rabbi has asserted under oath that the rabbi “sexually molested” him “many dozens of times” then continued the sexual relationship when he returned to the rabbi’s school to work as an adult.
The allegations emerged in a pretrial deposition taken in the case of Eliyahu Mirlis v. Rabbi Daniel Greer, et al.
Mirlis’s attorney filed that lawsuit in U.S. District Court on May 3. It charged that Greer repeatedly raped him for three years while he was a student at the Yeshiva of New Haven, one of two Orthodox Jewish schools Greer ran inside the former Roger Sherman School at Elm and Norton streets in New Haven’s Edgewood neighborhood. (Read a detailed account of that suit here.)
Greer — a prominent figure who revived a declining neighborhood and has publicly crusaded against gay rights, prostitution, and coed university dorms — has repeatedly denied the allegations through his attorney. Greer is 75 years old; he was in his 60s at the time of the alleged abuse.
The new set of allegations emerged in a July 25 deposition of a key witness in that case, a close family friend of Greer’s who grew up attending Greer’s schools and then returned as an adult to serve as a teacher and administrator. He is now 41 years old.
That deposition was not made public in full. But the witness’s attorney, Steven J. Errante, referenced the deposition and put excerpts into the court record in a subsequent Sept. 30 memorandum.
“Greer also sexually molested [the witness] many dozens of times while [the witness] was a minor under Greer’s care at the school. After his graduation, [the witness] returned to the school and became its assistant principal, serving under Greer. Greer’s sexual relationship with [him] continued for a number of years while [he] was the assistant principal. During [the witness’s] tenure as the school’s assistant principal, he knew that Greer was sexually molesting the plaintiff [Mirlis], but he failed to report the abuse or do anything to stop it. [The witness’s] testimony as elicited by plaintiff’s counsel, Attorney [Antonio] Ponvert, at [the witness’s] deposition of July 25, 2016 directly supports the claims against both defendant Greer and defendant Yeshiva,” Errante wrote.
Errante wrote the memo in response to a motion by Greer’s lawyer, William Ward, to require the witness to sit for another deposition to be cross-examined about an alleged sexual relationship he had with another student at the school named Yaakov (a common Hebrew name).
Ward argued that the questions would help establish that the witness was allegedly covering up his own sexual misdeeds at the school by fabricating allegations against Greer.
In his memo, Errante argued that the further questions Ward sought to ask were outside the scope of the case and “nothing more than thinly veiled intimidation.” He noted that Ward had already asked the witness for the addresses and other identifying information about his family members (confirmed by an excerpt of the deposition attached to the memo) — “the effect of which was to let the witness know that his family members were going to be deposed. … [The questions] are part of Greer’s intimidation tactics and are entirely improper. The subtext and innuendo of this line of questioning is the accusation that [the witness] himself had inappropriate physical or intimate relationships with others. [The witness] did testify that he has never had sexual relations with a student at the school or any other child. Even if the answer that question had been yes, it is hardly relevant to any issue in this case or to [his] credibility.”
Student Slashed Himself
The school at Elm and Norton.
Ward, Greer’s attorney, suggested during the original deposition that the witness may be engaged “in an attempt to divert attention from his sexual relationships with students while he was teaching at the Yeshiva of New Haven … and diverting them to Greer.”
“Perhaps he was the one who was sexually molesting Eliyahu, or perhaps he created or fabricated this claim,” Ward remarked at one point during the deposition. At another point Ward suggested the witness was threatening Greer to have a former student make allegations of sexual misconduct against him unless Greer would in order to convince Greer to “turn over control and/or assets of the school to him.”
Ward pressed the witness about his alleged relationship with Yaakov. In the process, he elicited information about hidden doings at the school and offered a taste of the kind of testimony that might emerge publicly if this case goes to trial.
Ward: Were you aware that Yaakov would slash himself while he was a student at the Yeshiva of New Haven?
A: What do you mean by slash?
Q: Cut?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you ever attempt to raise money for psychological counseling for Yaakov while he was at the high school?
A: No.
Q: Okay. And did you ever have any sexual contact with Yaakov while he was at the school?
A: No. …
Q: Did you ever nibble on a student’s ear while working at the school?
A: Yes.
Lots At Stake
The next phase of the case is expected to begin Monday, when Greer is scheduled to be deposed. Previous scheduled depositions of Greer were canceled amid wrangling by the two sides; a judge finally ordered the deposition to take place.
The case has frayed a once tight-knit Jewish community centered around the school and communal prayers that took place there daily. Most members of that community — including Greer’s two sons, who were leaders of it — have since left the community.
Nonprofit groups associated with Greer and the school were responsible for reviving the surrounding neighborhood by renovating and then managing beautiful old multi-family homes. Now the fate of those buildings, with 125 apartments, is in limbo along with the fate of the defendant.
The deposition witness, meanwhile, has relocated with his family out of state.