Malka Leifer’s victims express ‘shock’ at prison relationship with Samantha Azzopardi
Three sisters who were sexually abused by a predator principal have slammed her over bombshell reports from inside maximum security prison.
The brave sexual abuse survivors of Malka Leifer were “shocked” to discover their pedophile principal has seduced a high-profile inmate while languishing in prison.
News.com.au exclusively revealed on Thursday that Leifer, 58, has been intimate with a much younger inmate at Victoria’s only all-female maximum security prison.
The former headmistress of the ultra-orthodox Addas Israel School in Elsternwick, who was jailed for 15 years in 2023 for sexually abusing students in her care, has been linked to serial conwoman Samantha Azzopardi, 36.
The pair are jailed together inside the protection unit at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on Melbourne’s outskirts and are able to spend up to 11 hours a day mingling in public areas.
A former inmate, who was released from the facility in March, told news.com.au that Leifer and Azzopardi have been sharing secret notes, spending time in an area of the prison with no cameras and shared a public kiss on at least one occasion.
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She said Leifer had been cutting fruit for Azzopardi and leaving her fruit bags in the fridge.
“How f***ing wild is this ... Her best friend in there is the one and only Malka Leifer,” said the former inmate, who spoke to news.com.au on condition of anonymity.
“(Azzopardi) allowed Malka to kiss her on one occasion on the lips, very strange stuff,” she said.
Leifer’s victims, sisters Nicole Meyer, Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich, came forward with abuse claims dating back to 2003. They claimed Leifer sexually abused them on campus, in her home and on school camps.
A County Court jury found Leifer guilty of abusing Ms Erlich and Ms Sapper but cleared her of charges relating to Ms Meyer.
Speaking to news.com.au, the sisters said they were shocked and angered by what Leifer was up to inside prison, specifically that she appeared to be targeting “schoolgirl” conwoman Azzopardi.
They said it was troubling given Azzopardi has a history of dressing up and posing as a vulnerable schoolgirl to get money from her victims.
Azzopardi was jailed for two years last October for posing as a 17-year-old sex-trafficked schoolgirl from Belgium named Hattie Leigh and collecting more than $20,000 meant for victims of domestic violence.
She previously successfully enrolled at a Sydney highschool posing as a 13-year-old girl named Harper Hart despite being 28 at the time.
“I’m shocked but not surprised,” Dassi said.
“This is exactly how Malka Leifer operates. She seeks out vulnerability, builds trust and exploits it.
“She did it to me, and now allegedly to another woman in prison.
“The fact that (Azzopardi) has a history of impersonating children displays clear emotional instability, making her exactly the kind of person Leifer has always targeted.
“This proves she has not changed. Even under strict supervision, Leifer is still manipulating.”
Elly said “going after teenagers is absolutely Leifer’s thing”.
“We all look very young for our age. We looked very young at the time of the abuse,” she said.
“She has a penchant for going after very innocent, young looking girls. That’s something the courts still didn’t understand. That is how she operates.”
Nicole said news.com.au’s reporting about Leifer leaving Azzopardi food gifts was disturbing.
“The personal notes was another one of her grooming tools.”
Elly agreed.
“The fruit and the letters are two of the grooming tactics she used to use,” she said.
“Malka used to use food as part of her grooming. She would give you something from the bakery or on school camps, something special from the kitchen.
“The handwritten letters, too — she used to give little folded post-it notes to us. And hanging out in private rooms is also very familiar.”
The former Dame Phyllis Frost Centre inmate who spoke to news.com.au said Leifer and Azzopardi were often seen together in the laundry at the protection unit of the maximum security prison. She said it is the only area where there are no security cameras.
They kissed in front of inmates and prison officers in late 2024 on the same day that Azzopardi abandoned plans to appeal her sentence.
“The day Sam’s appeal got thrown out, she came back sad. Crying,” the former inmate told news.com.au.
“She’s come back in, had a breakdown and went into full meltdown mode. Scratching at her neck. It’s all red. Hands on her knees. Can’t breathe.
“Malka comes along, hugs her, grabs her by the face and just kissed her. Everyone was there. Other inmates saw it, I saw it, an officer saw it.
“Sam looked shocked and said, ‘What are you doing Malka?’ And Malka just looked confused.
“Malka was a loner, she used to sit in her room a lot. Sam came along and started roping her in, sharing gossip. Taking her washing off the line. Then Malka would cut up fruit for Sam and leave fruit bags for her in her fridge.
“The whole relationship was weird from the start. When Sam initially came in, she had Malka wrapped around her finger in days... Sam was looking for someone to con. Sam acts young, that’s the type of girl Malka likes.”
The former inmate said Leifer “gave Samantha a parole address to use” and “overheard Malka talking to Sam about going to live in Israel with her family”.
Leifer’s victims said those details were deeply troubling. Nicole said she hoped that Leifer’s supporters and family members had read the news this week and took some time to contemplate what it said about the ex-principal and convicted sex offender.
“I just hope the community or members of her family have a deep hard think after reading these stories and maybe, just maybe, start to believe that Malka Leifer did actually abuse us.
Elly said the news proved Leifer would never change.
“I guess of part of me always wanted to believe that there was some remorse, some understanding of her wrongdoing,” she said.
“Obviously that belief has diminished now, but mostly, I feel defeated and helpless at the knowledge that there will be many other young vulnerable girls in the future that she will groom and take advantage of.”