A Connecticut rabbi is accused in a lawsuit of raping and molesting a teenage boy hundreds of times from 2001 to 2005 while the boy was a student at a Jewish boarding school in New Haven.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in federal court by a 28-year-old New Jersey man. It accuses Rabbi Daniel Greer, principal of the Yeshiva of New Haven school, of sexual abuse.
According to the suit, the assaults lasted for hours — and sometimes the entire night — and happened on school property, at Greer’s private residence, at motels in Greater New Haven and in Pennsylvania, and at various area rental properties owned by the schools.
"It only takes a moment to make allegations with despicable indifference to the consequences of the damage that they would cause to my client, his family and his reputation that he spent a lifetime building within his community," attorney William Ward said in a statement. "This is a difficult time for my client and his family, but I would remind the public to ask for evidence before rushing to judgment."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and also names the school.
Attorney Antonio Ponvert III, of the Bridgeport-based firm Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, said his client hasn't sought criminal charges but would cooperate in any ensuing criminal probe.
