The Latest: Connecticut rabbi denies sexual abuse claims

New Zealand Herald
May 04, 2016

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11633100

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) " The Latest on a lawsuit accusing a Connecticut rabbi of sexually abusing a Jewish boarding school student (all times local):

12:15 p.m.

A Connecticut rabbi denies allegations in a lawsuit that he raped and molested a teenager hundreds of times when the boy was a student at a Jewish boarding school in New Haven more than a decade ago.

The lawsuit by Eliyahu (el-ee-YAH'-hu) Mirlis, now 28, of New Jersey, was filed Tuesday in federal court and seeks unspecified damages. It accuses Rabbi Daniel Greer, principal of Yeshiva of New Haven, of sexual abuse. The Associated Press generally doesn't name people who allege sexual assault, but Mirlis wanted to come forward, his lawyer said.

Greer's attorney, William Ward, said Greer denies the allegations and is now forced to prove they are false. Ward asked the public to ask for evidence before rushing to judgment.

New Haven police say they won't investigate unless Mirlis files a criminal complaint.

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9:50 a.m.

A Connecticut rabbi is accused in a lawsuit of raping and molesting a teenage boy hundreds of times from 2001 to 2005 when the boy was a student at a Jewish boarding school in New Haven.

The lawsuit by Eliyahu (el-ee-YAH'-hu) Mirlis, now 28, of New Jersey, was filed Tuesday in federal court. It accuses Rabbi Daniel Greer, principal of the Yeshiva of New Haven school, of sexual abuse. The Associated Press generally doesn't name people who allege sexual assault, but Mirlis wanted to come forward, his lawyer, Antonio Ponvert, said.

Greer and his lawyer didn't return messages seeking comment Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and also names the school.

Ponvert says Mirlis hasn't sought criminal charges but would cooperate in any ensuing criminal probe.