Malka Leifer: Rapist headmistress jailed for 15 years for sick sex abuse of two young sisters – after decades of dodging justice when she fled the country and fought to stay in Israel

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish principal Malka Leifer will spend up to 15 years behind bars for the insidious sexual abuse of two young high school students.

The verdict ends sisters Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper’s decades-long struggle for justice after their abuse at the hands of the respected mentor and mother of eight.

Leifer cried as her sentence was pronounced.

She was convicted by a jury earlier this year on 18 charges of sexual assault, including rape and indecent assault.

She was acquitted of nine other charges, including five against the siblings’ older sister, Nicole Meyer.

All three sisters were sitting in Victorian County Court on Thursday when Judge Mark Gamble handed down his sentence and ordered Leifer to serve at least 11.5 years in prison.

The three sisters (from left) Dassi Erlich, Elly Sapper and Nicole Meyer pictured outside court

Leifer was not there in person and instead watched the proceedings via video link from the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Melbourne’s maximum security prison.

Leifer focused on the sisters between 2004 and 2007, when they were students at Adass Israel School, and later student teachers in their first year.

She was then between 37 and 41 years old.

Mrs. Erlich was between 16 and 19 years old and Mrs. Sapper was between 17 and 18 years old.

Out of court today, they welcomed the verdict but revealed the trauma they endured on their way to getting the justice they sought.

They said they felt a surge of relief and affirmation when they learned their abuser would spend years behind bars.

“Today’s ruling fifteen years from now recognizes the damage and pain that Malka Leifer has caused all of us to suffer for so many years,” Ms Sapper said.

“Trauma from sexual abuse is a life sentence and while no number of years will ever be enough, we are relieved that Malka Leifer has now served 15 years in prison and cannot attack anyone else.”

The sisters campaigned for years to bring Leifer to justice and Ms. Erlich said the result was today because they had not given up.

“While we know that the task of fighting for justice does not lie with the survivors, this fight was never just for us,” she said.

“We show that the voices of the survivors will not and cannot be silenced, regardless of the obstacles.”

The experience was traumatic and destabilizing and she didn’t think she would have gotten through it if she hadn’t had her sisters by her side.

She said their expectation when it came to Leifer’s punishment was so low that the result gave them instant relief.

“Female offenders are so underreported and we had nothing to base this on,” she said.

“We were just so thankful that we felt validated at that exact moment.”

Judge Gamble noted in the sentence that the sisters were resilient and surprisingly optimistic, despite Ms Sapper feeling guilty about what had happened to her.

“They were completely innocent victims of Ms. Leifer’s predatory conduct, and she and she alone should feel guilty,” said Judge Gamble.

Ms Erlich said that now that this chapter is closed, they will continue to ensure that survivors have a voice.

“You are never alone, we are all behind you and we will continue to ensure that our collective voices will not be unbreakable,” she said.

In handing down the verdict, Judge Mark Gamble formally took into account 1,129 days Leifer had spent in custody in Israel, during extradition proceedings, and 940 days in custody in Australia.

He also applied a modest sentence reduction, taking into account 608 days of house arrest.

Those days were punishing, he said, but he also factored in allegations that she exaggerated and exacerbated her mental health issues to frustrate extradition proceedings during that time.

During an hour-long sentencing hearing, Judge Gamble described the care and abuse of the sisters, who had a difficult family life.

Leifer arrived from Israel in 2001 as a menaheles at the Adass Israel School—a highly respected senior position that gave her responsibility for the school’s ethos and religious teachings.

The sisters viewed Leifer as a mentor and were happy with the time she spent alone with them, during which she professed to love them like a mother.

But Judge Gamble said that through grooming, Leifer could facilitate the abuse.

She also threatened to expose their family life.

“She knew many things about me and suggested that if I said something she would share those things about my family life, which was a great embarrassment to me at the time,” he read from Ms Erlich’s evidence.

Judge Gamble said some of the offenses against Ms Sapper might have seemed brutal, but she had already tested the waters and because Ms Sapper wasn’t complaining, she may have felt confident to continue acting as she did.

Ms Erlich’s statement in court about the impact of Leifer’s abuse was a powerful illustration of the legacy the insidious abuse left her, he said, noting that one of the most egregious aspects of the damage was the effect it had on had her as a mother.

Malka Leifer (pictured facing court in Jerusalem in 2018) fought extradition from Israel for years after fleeing there in 2008 when the charges against her were first leveled

Ms Sapper described dealing with guilt, shame and fear, and continues to blame herself for letting Leifer love her.

But Judge Gamble said the sisters were commendably resilient and surprisingly optimistic.

“They were completely innocent victims of Ms. Leifer’s predatory behavior, and she and she alone should feel guilty,” the judge said.

Leifer was educated in Israel and had a passion for teaching early on, Judge Gamble said.

Her former colleague, Malky Fixler, said she was a highly respected person within the Adass Israel community, but the judge said her character and good reputation helped her commit the offenses.

He noted that the prison was difficult as she is the only Jewish woman there, English is not her native language and she has only been able to receive two personal visits from immediate family, all of whom live abroad.

The hearing room was packed for the verdict, with former Prime Minister Ted Baillieu and Victorian MP David Southwick in attendance.

A psychologist said Leifer struggled with the jury’s guilty verdicts and claimed she was not guilty.

The judge concluded that Leifer’s experience in custody in Australia had been incriminating and likely to continue to be so.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse Support Service and Redress 1800

Timeline of sexual abuse by teachers

2001

* Malka Leifer arrives from Israel at Adass Israel School in Melbourne

2003 – 2006

* Alleged Abuse of Nicole Meyer – Charges 1-5

2004 – 2006

* Abuse of Dassi Erlich – indictment 8-19

2006 – 2007

* Abuse of Elly Sapper – indictment 22-29

2008

* Leifer is fired by the school board after accusations, travels to Israel

2011

* The sisters make statements to Victoria Police

2014

* Leifer is arrested on 74 charges and held in house arrest. The extradition procedure begins

* Ms. Sapper sues for damages and receives a confidential out-of-court settlement

2015

* Ms. Erlich is refused an amicable settlement. She sues and is awarded damages

2016

* Leifer is found unfit for an extradition trial

2017

* Ms. Erlich launches #BringLeiferBack

* Ms. Meyer receives a confidential out-of-court settlement

Israeli-born Australian Malka Leifer (right) is taken to a courtroom in Jerusalem on February 27, 2018

2018

* Israeli police accuse Leifer of feigning mental illness

*Jerusalem chief psychiatrist recommends that Leifer be fit for an extradition hearing

2019

* Two psychiatrists tell a court that Leifer is fit for extradition, two more say she is not

2020

* Leifer is found mentally fit to stand trial at her 71st hearing and subsequently mentally fit for extradition

*The extradition order has been signed

2021

* Leifer arrives in Melbourne shortly before borders close due to the COVID-19 pandemic

* She is ordered to stand trial and pleads not guilty

2023

* Leifer pleads not guilty again when her trial begins in February in Victorian County Court

* In April, jurors convict her of 18 felonies related to Ms. Erlich and Ms. Sapper. She is acquitted of nine charges, five of which involve Ms. Meyer and four of which involve Ms. Erlich.

* Leifer was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 11.5 years, having already served about five and a half years.