Malka Leifer: Court told of accused Melbourne sex teacher’s alleged vile request
Shocking new claims have emerged in the extradition trial of fugitive teacher Malka Leifer, who is accused of 74 sexual abuse charges in relation to three alleged victims.
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Fugitive teacher Malka Leifer asked her alleged sexual abuse victims to call her “mum”, an Israeli court heard.
The Jerusalem District Court declared on Monday night that it would make a decision on Leifer’s extradition to Australia on September 21, more than a decade after she fled to Israel.
The former principal at Melbourne’s Adass Israel School in Elsternwick was accused of 74 sexual abuse charges in relation to three alleged victims.
Matan Akiva, from Israel’s State Attorney’s Office, said that Leifer groomed the alleged victims.
“Leifer told them that she can be trusted, give them warmth and love that they lack in the home,” Mr Akiva alleged, according to a translation.
“At some point she is asking one of them to call her mum.
“This is the relationship that Malka Leifer created with the three girls on which this discussion of consent is given.”
Leifer has been fighting extradition to Australia after fleeing in 2008, shortly after the school was told of the allegations that were being made by sisters Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper.
Her defence team lost a bid on Sunday to access notes of a meeting between one of the sisters and an Israeli politician.
Nick Kaufman, for Leifer, told the court on Monday night that there was an issue of consent in the alleged abuse.
“One of the complainants said she felt ‘dirty’ when Leifer did the acts and she did not want her to do the same things to her sister,” he said.
“The question is whether the defendant can be extradited to court for acts prohibited by consent.”
He claimed that these were “immodest acts but they did not object”.
Mr Kaufman attempted to claim that Leifer would not get a fair trial in Australia and that there was a legal loophole based on the type of alleged offending.
The court was told that a decision would be handed down on September 21.
stephen.drill@news.co.uk