Incarcerated sex offender Rabbi Daniel Greer left his prison cell Wednesday to come to a New Haven courtroom — where one of his alleged victims testified that Greer had indeed had sex with a former student … but waited until the boy was over the age of 16 years.
Greer was the one who arranged to have the witness come say that, in the hopes of obtaining a new trial.
That was the focus of a four-hour hearing held in Room 6C in New Haven’s Church Street state courthouse.
Greer is petitioning the court for a new trial based on what he claims is “new evidence” provided by Aviad “Avi” Hack. Greer is arguing that the 2019 criminal case in which he was convicted on four counts of risk of injury to a minor was based on an incorrect assessment of the victim’s age.
He is currently serving 20 years in prison for the attack on a former student at his Elm Street yeshiva, Eliyahu Mirlis, who was supposedly between 14 and 15 years old at the time.
Since then, on Oct. 29, 2021, Hack — a former student and then a former employee at the yeshiva who has also described having had a sexual relationship with Greer — signed an affidavit stating that, to his knowledge, Greer did not have sex with Mirlis until Mirlis was 16 years old.
The statute defines a minor as being under 16.
Hack, now 47, testified in court on Wednesday, and asserted that based on his close relationship with Greer, he believed the “truth” was that Greer did not have sex with Mirlis until the boy turned 16. Just as Hack said he himself did not have sex with Greer until he was 16.
After hearing the testimony, state Judge Jon Blue continued the proceedings until Sept. 23, when Greer may choose to testify.