In an Australian court on Wednesday, two sisters recounted the traumatic experience of being sexually abused by their former Jewish school principal, expressing the lasting impact it had on their ability to trust and their emotional well-being.
Malka Leifer, who had fought against her extradition from Israel for years, was convicted of rape and other offenses in the County Court of Victoria in April. During the sentencing hearing, Leifer watched attentively through a video link from prison, showing no visible reaction as the sisters read their victim impact statements.
Dassi Erlich, 35, positioned herself in the courtroom in a way that allowed both her and Leifer to see each other as she delivered her statement, honoring the requests of both parties involved.
Erlich shared that she was only 16 years old when Leifer, in a manipulative act, told her, “I love you like a mother.” Erlich expressed her “complete trust” in Leifer at that time but emphasized how “The insidious nature of her sexual abuse has fractured my ability to trust forever.” The impact of the abuse continues to haunt her and affect her life profoundly.
During the court proceedings, Elly Sapper, 34, expressed her hesitations about revisiting the trauma that has significantly impacted her life for over half of it. She revealed that remembering the abuse is an incredibly painful experience that “It hurts to remember. It hurts more than I’ll ever be able to describe”.
Sapper testified during Leifer’s six-week trial while she was pregnant, but tragically, she suffered the loss of her unborn baby just a week before the verdicts were announced. Although Sapper did not provide specific details about the circumstances, she shared the heart-wrenching pain of losing her baby.
She explained that “Her heart stopped beating, There were no concrete answers, there were no abnormalities. I will never know if the stress, the worry, the anxiety or the years of trauma played any part in the loss of my little girl.”
In the trial, Leifer was acquitted of nine charges, including five that pertained to the eldest sister of the victims, Nicole Meyer. Meyer, 37, was present in court alongside her sisters during the proceedings.
During the court proceedings, when Judge Mark Gamble informed Leifer that she would need to answer questions verbally rather than nodding her head, she responded with a smile. When asked about her occupation by Gamble’s associate, Leifer replied that she was currently not working.
Leifer, 56, has been convicted of multiple charges, including six counts of rape, each carrying a potential prison sentence of up to 25 years. She was also convicted of three charges of sexual penetration of a child, with each charge carrying a possible 10-year sentence, as well as six counts of indecent assault, which also carries a 10-year sentence.
Additionally, she was found guilty of three charges of committing an indecent act with a child, which is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. It is important to note that these offenses do not have mandatory minimum sentences.
The conclusion of Leifer’s trial marks the end of a lengthy extradition battle that strained relations between the Australian and Israeli governments, while also causing tension within Australia’s Jewish community.
Malka Leifer, who was born in Tel Aviv, returned to Israel in 2008 and fought against extradition from Australia for years. In 2021, she was finally extradited to Melbourne to face charges of abusing students at an ultra-Orthodox school. During the trial, her defense lawyer emphasized her isolation and described her as a broken woman. Following her prison term, Leifer will be placed in immigration detention and deported to Israel.
The hearing was adjourned till a later date when the prosecutor Justn Lewis will make submissions.
