Christopher Peak Photo
Rabbi Daniel Greer (at right) with defense attorney Willie Dow outside federal court during his September criminal trial.
The man who publicly revealed that New Haven’s Rabbi Daniel Greer raped him as a young student has criticized a state judge for temporarily releasing Greer from prison amid Covid-19 fears.
The victim, Eliyahu Mirlis, made the criticism in a letter Thursday to State Superior Court Judge Jon Alander.
“I vehemently object” to the release, Mirlis wrote.
Judge Alander ordered Greer temporarily released from Cheshire Correctional Institution to home confinement last week because of what he termed the state Department of Correction’s lack of protective measures against the spread of Covid-19 behind bars as well as Greer’s “advanced age and underlying medical condition.”
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Greer is in the first year of a 20-year sentence, to be suspended after 12, after a jury found hiim guilty of four felony counts of risk of injury to a minor. That minor was Mirlis, who attended Greer’s Norton Street yeshiva in the 1990s. Mirlis also prevailed in a federal civil suit against Greer, winning over $20 million in damages that he is now struggling to collect.
“We live in extraordinary times. Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures,” Alander wrote in his release order. “Given the present high incident of COVID-19 within Connecticut’s prisons and the lack of sufficient PPE for its staff, the defendant’s advanced age and underlying medical condition warrant his temporary release from prison until the crisis abates.”
In his letter Thursday to Judge Alander, Mirlis complained that neither the state’s attorney’s nor the victim advocate office had notified him about the court date scheduled to consider Greer’s request for release. He stated that he had a right to be notified under Article 1, Section 8b of the state constitution.
Mirlis questioned the claim that Greer has chronic asthma: “Mr. Greer never had an inhaler and never had any respiratory issues when I had known him,” and his previous medical records cited in as Feb. 13, 2020, court filing read “N/A” next to “respiratory issues.”
“I am not a doctor but I own nursing homes and am familiar with basic medical issues concerning the elderly,” Mirlis wrote. “Mr. Greer’s medical condition, heart rate, pulse rate, and blood pressure in the medical records indicate that he is very healthy for a man of his age. In fact in my homes, patients who have gotten the virus and have comorbidities have recovered as well.”
Alander ordered Greer released for 45 days; the period may be extended. Mirlis asked in the letter to be notified of future court dates related to Greer’s status.
“I vehemently object to Mr. Greer’s continued release from incarceration. I waited many years for the criminal trial of Mr. Greer. Mr. Greer has not voluntarily paid me one dollar towards my civil judgment, which is now over $20 million. Mr. Greer recently appealed the judgment of foreclosure I obtained against his yeshiva building,” Mirlis wrote.
“Mr. Greer is a danger to minors in the Jewish community. I was told that Mr. Greer had minors at his synagogue on Yom Kippur in Octobor of 2019 while he was awaiting sentencing. Mr. Greer was able to fast the entire day and walk, while he was fasting, approximately one mile from his house to his synagogue, and then one mile back to his house, on Yom Kippur just six months ago.
“I struggled for many years to come forward and report the sexual abuse of Mr. Greer. When I finally had the strength and courage to publicly com eforward I was met with anger and derision from people who supported Mr. Greer. I was subjected to vicious attacks in civil and criminal court, calling me a ‘liar and a thief.’
“Mr. Greer’s release from prison while maybe beneficial for him, is not beneficial for society and for the outcome of the court case where Jurors found him guilty on 4 counts and where he was sentenced to serve his time. Why should he be ‘cut a break’?”
Previous coverage of this case:
• Suit: Rabbi Molested, Raped Students
• Greer’s Housing Corporations Added To Sex Abuse Lawsuit
• 2nd Ex-Student Accuses Rabbi Of Sex Assault
• 2nd Rabbi Accuser Details Alleged Abuse
• Rabbi Sexual Abuse Jury Picked
• On Stand, Greer Invokes 5th On Sex Abuse
• Rabbi Seeks To Bar Blogger from Court
• Trial Mines How Victims Process Trauma
• Wife, Secretary Come To Rabbi Greer’s Defense
• Jury Awards $20M In Rabbi Sex Case
• State Investigates Greer Yeshiva’s Licensing
• Rabbi Greer Seeks New Trial
• Affidavit: Scar Gave Rabbi Greer Away
• Rabbi Greer Pleads Not Guilty
• $21M Verdict Upheld; Where’s The $?
• Sex Abuse Victim’s Video Tests Law
• Decline at Greer’s Edgewood “Village”?
• Rabbi’s Wife Sued For Stashing Cash
• Why Greer Remains Free, & Victim Unpaid
• Showdown Begins Over Greer Properties
• Judge: Good Chance Greer’s Wife Hid $240K
• Sex Abuse Too Much For Many Jurors
• Potential Greer Juror Grilled On “Truth”
• Greer Jury Finalized
• Greer’s Accuser Recounts Sexual Abuse
• Attorney Grills Greer Accuser
• Religion’s Role Raised In Greer Trial
• Another Greer Accuser Testifies
• Trial Question: Can Sex Crimes Victims Love Their Abusers?
• State Screws Up: 4 Greer Counts Dismissed
• Jury Finds Rabbi Greer Guilty
• “Noodles” Sideshow Stalls Sentencing
• Rabbi Greer Headed To Prison
• Rabbi Greer Released From Prison