Malka Leifer

The jury found Leifer guilty of 18 rape and sexual assault charges, and not guilty of nine, despite never being told she had fled to Israel in 2008.

“Today’s guilty verdict is a great day for justice and vindication of the courageous survivors ... Adass Israel School complies fully with all child safety standards and regulations, and we have zero tolerance for abuse of any kind.” During the trial, she focused closely on her barrister Ian Hill, KC, and rarely looked at the jury. She was cleared of all charges relating to a third sister, Nicole Meyer. Her flight overseas sparked a drawn-out extradition process that strained relations between Australia and Israel, but she was ultimately brought back to Victoria in 2021. She would not return to Victoria to face justice for more than 10 years. But they cleared her of all charges relating to a third sister. The sisters looked straight ahead. [Social worker Chana Rabinowitz,](/link/follow-20170101-p58t9n) one of the first people to hear the allegations of abuse from one of the sisters, did not give evidence in person in front of a jury. Instead, a pre-recorded version of her evidence and cross-examination over video link was taken in closed court and played to the jury. She was extradited to Australia in January 2021 after a six-year legal battle that at times made the relationship between Australia and Israel uneasy, and angered Melbourne’s Jewish community, which was supportive of the sisters. [escape to Israel](/link/follow-20170101-p4zkx4) when the allegations of abuse began to emerge in 2008.

The former ultra-Orthodox Jewish school principal pleaded not guilty to all charges in the Victorian County Court trial.

In an emergency, call 000. Nicole Meyer, Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich accused former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer of abusing them when she was the head of Melbourne's Ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School. She was accused of sexually abusing Melbourne sisters Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper at the Adass Israel School in the city’s eastern suburbs between 2003 and 2007.

After more than 31 hours of deliberation over nine days, former Jewish school principal Malka Leifer has learned her fate.

So I have directed verdicts of not guilty be entered.” How could they not feel special?” The jury found her guilty of all other charges. “This is a day we have been waiting for,” she said. now we can say Malka Leifer is a sexual abuser. “(It) grew like wildfire into a story that was constantly added to and varied over the years.” In his closing remarks he questioned how the allegations against Ms Leifer had “evolved over time”, saying the jury would have to judge whether these were “delusions” brought on by their abusive home lives. From the outset of the trial, crown prosecutor Justin Lewis had told the jury the case relied “heavily” on testimony from the three sisters. But Ms Leifer’s barrister, Ian Hill KC, told the jury the sisters’ “credibility and reliability” would be a critical issue for them to decide. “The abuse has impacted us for so many years, and it’s time to start our lives,” she said. She was found not guilty on all charges relating to Ms Meyer, and guilty to all charges relating to Ms Sapper. Ms Leifer, who has appeared calm and composed throughout the duration of the trial, rose to her feet as the jury entered.

Israeli headmistress convicted of 18 charges, cleared of 9 others, 15 years after she escaped arrest by fleeing to Israel; judge will sentence her at a ...

Leifer’s lawyer Ian Hill told the jury the sisters had revered Leifer and writings from their school years showed them thanking her for being supportive. Lewis said the sisters had provided explicit evidence that they did not understand the sexual nature of what Leifer did to them. Rabinowitz said she asked the sister who hurt her and the young woman replied, “It was Mrs. Prosecutor Justin Lewis had asked the 12 jurors to consider that Leifer, an Israeli-born mother of eight, showed sexual interest in the girls when they were teenage students at the school and later when they became student teachers there. The middle sister first spoke to social worker Chana Rabinowitz in early 2008 in Israel. They were aged around 12, 14 and 16 when Leifer arrived at the school from Israel in 2001.

Malka Leifer was convicted of sexually abusing two pupils at a Melbourne school in the early 2000s.

The Israeli judge, who ordered her extradition in 2021, said she had been "impersonating someone with mental illness". She had taken advantage of her position, he said, but also the sisters' "vulnerability [and] their ignorance in sexual matters". Leifer's legal team did not call any defence witnesses - including Leifer herself.

A jury heard how sisters in an isolated ultra-Orthodox community trusted their former principal before she abused them.

The school was notified and Leifer was stood down. In the UK, the [NSPCC](https://www.nspcc.org.uk/)offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood ( [Napac](https://napac.org.uk/)) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. Erlich feared she would be seen as “damaged goods” when it came time to marry. Days later she left for Israel. If Mrs Leifer was doing something then it must be OK,” Sapper said. Rabinowitz phoned Meyer, who confirmed she had been abused too. I wanted to feel loved,” she said. They didn’t speak of it at the time. They didn’t have that sort of relationship. The lessons were also a big privilege. “But it was also like she was closer to God than I was, and by having those lessons it was like she was increasing my spirituality and my religion, which was something that was of the utmost importance to me,” she said.

A jury in the County Court of Victoria found Leifer guilty of 18 rape and sexual assault charges relating to sisters Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich. The jury ...

[obstructing justice](https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2023-04-03/ty-article/malka-leifer-guilty-of-sexually-abusing-students-australian-court-finds/00000187-45ba-df9b-a9d7-c5beab400000) in Leifer’s case. [fled](https://theconversation.com/the-israeli-supreme-court-has-cleared-the-way-for-malka-leifers-extradition-hearing-what-happens-now-142986) to Israel with her family. [Australian Story](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-23/sisters-fight-for-justice-against-alleged-abuser-malka-leifer/9672550) program profiled the sisters in 2018. Once Leifer is sentenced by the judge, it is expected that sentencing remarks will be published by the court. Today’s verdict finally brings closure for three brave women, after astonishing delays and setbacks that no victim of sexual abuse should ever have to endure. He was subsequently sentenced for the lesser charge of [breach of trust](https://www.timesofisrael.com/litzman-gets-minor-fine-no-jail-for-shielding-alleged-pedophile-leifer-from-justice/) as part of a plea deal to avoid a custodial sentence. Leifer maintained her innocence throughout the trial. Over several years, Leifer claimed to be too unwell to attend court hearings and she was assessed by more than 30 psychiatrists. In October 2019, she was bailed into house arrest in her sister’s home. A jury in the County Court of Victoria found Leifer guilty of 18 rape and sexual assault charges relating to sisters Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich. The sisters were Leifer’s trial was a long-term goal for Victorian and Australian authorities.