Published: 3 April 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
The jury has reached a verdict in the case of Adass Israel principal Malka Leifer, who was charged with 27 counts of sexual abuse; The Leifer case as it happened.
Former ultra-Orthodox Jewish principal Malka Leifer has been found guilty of 18 sexual abuse offences against two former students.
Jurors on Monday handed down mixed verdicts against the 56-year-old mother of eight after a trial in the Victorian County Court.
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.
Jurors convicted her of 18 offences relating to offending against Ms Erlich and Ms Sapper. She was acquitted of nine charges, including the five that related to Ms Meyer and several charges involving Ms Erlich.
Leifer, who sat with her head tilted watching the jury, did not react as the verdicts were read.
Ms Erlich and Ms Sapper were in court for the verdicts.
Leifer was appointed menaheles, or principal, of the girls' school after arriving in Melbourne in 2001 but was stood down when allegations were raised in 2008.
She fled to Israel days later and when charged in 2014, began a years-long battle against extradition.
The sisters told jurors they were abused by Leifer on school camps, during private lessons at the school and at Leifer's home.
Prosecutor Justin Lewis argued Leifer had a tendency to have a sexual interest in girls when they were teenage students at the school and when those same girls were student teachers.
Mr Lewis said the tendency was to engage in sexual activities with them and to take advantage of their vulnerability, ignorance in sexual matters and her position of authority in order to do so.
Her barrister, Ian Hill KC, argued the lengthy delay between the alleged offending and the trial, which began in February, was a disadvantage to the defence and to jurors.
He attacked the credibility of the sisters, including accusing one of telling "blatant lies" in her evidence.
"Truth and reliability were lost in false accounts," he said.
"Perhaps even at times hardened into false imaginations and false memories of false realities."
The verdicts
GUILTY
6 x indecent assault
3 x sexual penetration of a child aged 16 or 17
3 x indecent act with a child aged 16 or 17
5 x rape
1 x rape by compelled sexual penetration
NOT GUILTY
4 x indecent assault
5 x rape.
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Timeline: How the Malka Leifer case unfolded (The Jewish Independent)
