Malka Leifer found guilty of rape, indecent assault

Malka Leifer was found guilty of rape, indecent assault and sexual penetration of a minor, in the County Court of Victoria, Australia on Monday.

A jury found Leifer guilty of 18 of the 29 counts of sexual abuse charges against two sisters that she was on trial for but cleared her of all charges relating to a third sister.

The jury took 12 days to return a verdict after struggling to come to a unanimous decision on all charges in those days.

During the trial, which lasted six weeks, the jury heard allegations of various forms of sexual abuse on multiple occasions against sisters Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper. The incidents occurred while the sisters attended Adass Israel School in Melbourne where Leifer was the principal and were said to have happened at the school, at summer camps and in Leifer's home.

Throughout the trial, the court heard that the sisters had a difficult home life, and Leifer used this to get close to them, raping and sexually assaulting them on multiple occasions.

The court also heard that because the sisters had been raised ultra-orthodox, they did not understand the sexual nature of what was done to them and therefore could not give consent to any of it.

Leifer escaped to Israel

The sisters first accused Leifer of sexual abuse in late 2007 and early 2008 after Erlich spoke to a social worker about the abuse she was subjected to. Shortly after the accusations, Leifer fled Australia to Israel where she claimed she was not mentally fit to be extradited and stand trial in Australia.

Leifer remained in Israel for more than 15 years until Israeli courts ruled her fit and she was extradited back to Australia in January of 2021 after a six-year legal battle.

The court did not hear of Leifer's escape to Israel or about the extradition affair. Media in Australia was also barred from reporting about Leifer in Israel until after the sentencing.

In the middle of the trial, Leifer was acquitted of two counts of sexual abuse because the dates of the laws used to charge her did not match the dates in which the abuse allegedly occurred.

Leifer will receive her sentence at the end of April. According to Go To Court, which was established by Australian lawyer James Stevens, a standard sentence for rape could be 10 years in Victoria with the maximum being 25. The maximum sentence for sexual assault is 10 years. Sex offenders who sexually abuse minors usually get longer sentences depending on the age of the victim.

After the verdict, the three young women who led the acquisitions against Leifer, after personally suffering sexual abuse, spoke to the media. One of them said that “we have sat in this court for nine weeks, every day listening to our truth and having people try to tear it apart. It's a hard process but with support, it's the right thing to do; not to [give Leifer] access to touch kids ever again.”

“Today’s guilty verdict is a great day for justice and vindication of the courageous survivors, Nicole, Dassi and Elly, whose perseverance and dignity have been a hallmark of their long and extraordinary fight for justice,” said Manny Waks VoiCSA CEO­. “We hope that today’s verdict provides them with some peace of mind and contributes to their long-term healing and well-being,” he said.

VoiCSA (originally Kol v'Oz) was established in 2016 as an Israel-based, international organization that is dedicated to combating child sexual abuse in the global Jewish community. 

Waks added that “we are also mindful that there are several other alleged victims of Leifer who for one reason or another have chosen not to go through this process and we also have them in our thoughts.”

VoiCSA called upon the Adass Israel School “to issue an unequivocal public apology to Dassi, Elly and Nicole for its horrific failure to protect them when they were under its care,” as well as calling upon Victoria Police “to hold to account those members of the Adass Israel School’s leadership who aided and abetted Leifer’s escape to Israel from Australia after being informed of what she had done.”

Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler said in response to the verdict that he hopes "that the verdict brings much-needed closure to Elly, Nicole and Dassi who bravely fought for justice for many years." He added that it also "brings closure for the Australian Jewish community who have supported the brave survivors’ demands that Malka Leifer face justice in Australia. We continue to stand with Elly, Nicole and Dassi and all survivors of abuse in their fight for justice.”

Leibler continued, “a key part of their trauma was the time it took to extradite Leifer back to Australia and the clear evidence of political interference in that process. Israel must take action to ensure that such a travesty cannot recur.”