By Paul Bass

NEW HAVEN – Moved by an appeal about the dangers of Covid-19 behind bars, a Superior Court judge has ordered Rabbi Daniel Greer temporarily moved from prison to house arrest.

Superior Court Judge Jon Alander issued the temporary order of release on Friday.

The 79-year-old prominent New Haven rabbi – who was in his first year of a 20-year prison sentence (suspended after 12) at Cheshire Correctional Institution for repeatedly sexually assaulting a teenage student at his Norton Street yeshiva – can now remain at home in the Edgewood neighborhood under house arrest for at least 45 days on a promise to appear in court. The order states that the court may extend or termination the 45-day order.

It was a striking move from a judge who had previously denied two separate motions by Greer’s attorneys to allow him to remain out of prison while he appealed his conviction.

“We live in extraordinary times,” Alander wrote in his order. “Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.”

He noted that the 79-year-old Greer suffers from chronic asthma, making him especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. Covid-19 is present in Connecticut prisons at a “substantially higher rate than in the general population,” while the state Department of Correction (DOC) has failed to supply “adequate” masks and other protective equipment to staffers, limiting its ability to contain the virus in what is already a challenging environment for social distancing, the judge stated.

“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,” Alander wrote.

The judge noted in his order that he had previously denied requests to release Greer on an appeal bond because he considers him a “serious and substantial flight risk.” He still does, Alander wrote, but added that pandemic stay-at-home orders and flight restrictions lessen the risk “to some degree.”

Alander’s order places Greer under electronic monitoring by the Office of Adult Probation. Greer may leave home for religious services or medical and legal appointments, subject to a bail commissioner’s or probation officer’s approval. He must surrender his passport, avoid contact with boys under 16 years old, and “not violate criminal law.”

Greer’s attorney, David T. Grudberg, Saturday night called for the state to release more inmates who are vulnerable to contracting Covid-19.

“I hope that the State of Connecticut and DOC will take similar decisive action to release the most vulnerable inmates from custody, even on a temporary basis, who have a stable alternative to incarceration,” he said in a statement to the In-dependent. “This will help protect not just those prisoners, but also their fellow inmates and the brave DOC employees who continue to carry out their duties every day.”

Covid-19 Plea

A jury found Greer guilty of four felony counts of risk of injury to a minor.

Before this latest motion for temporary release, Greer had previously filed two appeals to Alander’s denial of his request to remain out on bond. Both times the case went to the state appellate court, which upheld Alander’s denials.

Greer’s attorney, Grudberg, made a third attempt on March 31, asking the appellate court to release Greer based solely on the spread of Covid-19 in the prison system and the system’s difficulty in containing it.

On April 15 the appellate court denied the motion to release, but this time ordered Alander to reconsider the issue in light of the growing Covid-19 crisis behind bars.

So Grudberg filed a new motion to Alander’s court on April 16.

In the motion, he noted that the number of prison inmate and staff Covid-19 cases in Connecticut prisons had “exploded” from 4 to “nearly 340” in just 16 days. He also said that the travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic decreased the chance of Greer fleeing.

The state responded on April 22 with a motion opposing the request for release. The response, written by Senior Asst. State’s Attorney Maxine Wilensky (who prosecuted the criminal case against Greer), noted that Alander and the appellate court had already rejected similar Covid-19 arguments from Greer as part of a broader previous appeal for release. The court then “reasonably” decided that Greer’s crimes were serious enough, as is his flight risk, to warrant his remaining in jail even amid the pandemic.

In prison, Wilensky wrote, Greer was “housed in protective custody, complete with his own sink and, more importantly has the cell to himself. The only contact with other people are DOC guards and other inmates, who are also in protective custody, should he choose to interact with them.” In home release, Wilensky argued, Greer would also “potentially be exposed … given the need for food shopping, doctor’s visits, and religious gatherings for prayers.” Wilensky argued that the DOC is taking appropriate steps to protect inmates.

Wilensky also elaborated on the potential flight risk: “The defendant has a car at his disposal, and travel between states is allowed. There are many Jewish orthodox communities, given their insular nature and distrust of outside authorities, that may be willing to help the defendant, and it would be difficult to locate him were he to flee there.”

Grudberg swung back with an attack on the DOC’s record of containing the virus. In a response to Wilensky’s brief, he noted that as of April 23, the infection rate in the general population of Connecticut was under 1 percent, at 0.63 percent. By contrast, the infection rate for corrections workers stood at about 4 percent, for inmates at 2.8 percent.

“DOC’s efforts are simply not working,” Grudberg wrote.

He also argued that placing Greer on electronic monitoring would negate the flight risk.

There were no in-court arguments. The judicial system has largely cut back courthouse proceedings during the pandemic. Alander issued his order a day after Grudberg submitted his response brief, and sided with his arguments.

“We are exceptionally grateful that Judge Alander reconsidered his prior decision and allowed Daniel Greer to be under house arrest until the current pandemic threat abates, instead of a life-threatening situation within the correctional system,” Grudberg told the Independent.

Community Leader

Beginning in the 1980s, Rabbi Greer oversaw the revival of the neighborhood around his yeshiva at the corner of Norton and Elm streets, renovating neglected historic homes. He advocated for keeping nuisance businesses out of the Whalley Avenue commercial corridor, exposed johns who patronized street prostitutes in the neighborhood, and then in 2007 for launching an armed neighborhood “defense” patrol and then calling in the Guardian Angels for assistance to combat crime.

Over the years, Rabbi Greer also received national attention for his political stands. In the 1970s, he led a successful campaign to force the United States to pressure the Soviet Union into allowing Jewish “refuseniks” to emigrate here and start new, freer lives. Greer has also crusaded against gay rights in Connecticut, and filed suit against Yale University over a requirement that students live in coed dorms.

This article is reprinted with permission of New Haven Independent.

Main Photo: Rabbi Daniel Greer with his attorney Willie Dow outside of court on Sept. 24, 2019, a day before a jury found guilty of four counts of risk of in-jury to a minor. (Credit: Christopher Peak)