‘Echoes of trauma’ as Malka Leifer victims detail impact statements in court

Two of Malka Leifer’s victims have laid out in court the devastating consequences of her sexual abuse on their lives with detailed victim impact statements.

Persistent nightmares. Crippling mental health fallout. Possibly a lost pregnancy.

These are three of many consequences Malka Leifer’s sexual abuse victims say her offending and criminal trial has had on their lives during impact statements given to Victoria’s County Court on the first day of the former principal’s plea hearing.

Leifer, 56, watched remotely from a room in the Dame Phyllis Frost prison as sisters Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich delivered summaries of the way her abuse had cast a shadow over their lives, including their relationships, mental health and ability to work.

Ms Sapper revealed that six days before Leifer’s guilty verdicts, she was pregnant but lost her baby.

Sisters Elly Sapper , Nicole Meyer and Dassi Erlich outside court as the case against former school principal Malka Leifer continues. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

“I have had to fight sitting here in court while being cross-examined and torn apart on the stand knowing I was pregnant after years of trying and many pregnancy losses,” she said.

“Six days before the verdict, we lost our little girl. Her heart stopped beating.

“There were no concrete answers, no abnormalities. I will never know if the stress, worry and anxiety … played any part in the loss of my little girl.”

In the packed courtroom, friends and family could be heard crying.

Ms Sapper’s husband, Daniel Lichter, also gave a victim impact statement, telling the court: “She and I have adjusted our lives to give her the best chance at stringing a series of good days together.

“We hope over time that the string of good days will get longer and longer.”

Leifer was found guilty by a jury of eight offences against Ms Sapper, including rape.

Ms Sapper’s sister, Ms Erlich, told the court Leifer “stole her body” after a jury found the ex-Adass Israel School teacher guilty of nine charges relating to her, including rape, indecent assault and sexual penetration of a 16 or 17-year-old.

“My body without warning is gripped by the memory of what she did. And then in the middle of the carpark I am standing there shaking,” she said. “Or struggling to break free of terrifying sleep paralysis in the middle of the night.

“She became an architect of my pain, during the day and in my sleep.”

Ms Erlich, who said she has suffered from eating disorders and depression, was not “stronger” because of Leifer’s abuse and was hospitalised during the trial.

“Her abuse has forced me numerous times to choose between life and death. And each time I chose life,” she said. “The impact of the harm Malka Leifer had on me has exacted a major toll on my mental wellbeing, financial security, employment prospects and educational pursuits.”

Ms Sapper and Ms Erlich’s sister Nicole Meyer also delivered a victim impact statement outside of court after the jury had acquitted Leifer of allegations made by her.

“The scars both visible and invisible persist, no matter the verdict delivered by a jury,” she said.

“Her manipulation, control and violation of my body and mind has had profound and devastating consequences in shaping the person I have become. The physical impact remained long after the abuse and continues to be present, with chronic pain, eating disorders and sleeping issues and PTSD.”

The court heard the maximum sentence for rape charges was 25 years, for sexual penetration of a 16 or 17-year-old 10 years and for indecent assault 10 years .

Ms Leifer’s barrister, Ian Hill KC, urged presiding judge Mark Gamble to consider the hurt Leifer was experiencing as a result of the distance from her family and isolation from her religious life.

Leifer has spent a little more than five years in custody already, and when she becomes eligible for parole she will be immediately placed in immigration detention as she no longer has a visa.