A former ultra-orthodox Jewish school principal who is facing dozens of child sex abuse charges has vowed to fight the allegations against her after being ordered to stand trial.
Key points:
- Malka Leifer is facing 70 charges after four were dropped
- The former Adass Israel school principal pleaded not guilty
- The court heard from a former colleague of Ms Leifer and the ex-husband of one of her accusers
Prosecutors have successfully convinced a magistrate that Malka Leifer, 55, should face the County Court of Victoria over the accusations, which date back to her time as the principal of the Adass Israel school.
The allegations are being levelled by sisters Dassi Erlich, Elly Sapper and Nicole Meyer, but Ms Leifer has always vehemently denied them.
She was extradited from Israel earlier this year.
The court heard Ms Leifer was facing 74 charges, but four of those were dropped today because they allegedly occurred in Israel.
Ms Leifer, dressed in blue and wearing black and white sneakers, appeared by video link from prison where she sat facing away from the camera.
"Having carefully considered the entirety of the evidence … in my opinion the evidence is of sufficient weight to support a conviction," Magistrate Johanna Metcalf said.
"I propose to commit the accused for trial.
"Mrs Leifer, do you plead guilty or not guilty?"
"Not guilty," Ms Leifer said.
Witness recounts day Leifer was stood down
Details of a dramatic late-night meeting where Ms Leifer was stood down were today aired in court.
Witness Esther Spigelman, the former head of general studies at the Adass Israel school, told the court that in 2008, she was called to a meeting of the school board at 11:00pm.
"Were you told what was going to happen?" asked Ian Hill QC, who is defending Ms Leifer.
"I was only told that there is something that made the board decide to ask Mrs Leifer to no longer be the … head of the Jewish studies," Ms Spigelman said.
Ms Spigelman told the court that Ms Leifer was not present at the meeting.
"It was a very big shock and I definitely went to say goodbye," she said.
"And was she teary?" Mr Hill asked.
"Very much so," Ms Spigelman replied.
"She was very upset with what they were doing to her … she definitely said, 'I did nothing wrong,' and pretty much, she felt very unfair with what was happening."
She later told police that the events stunned her.
"We were all very good friends with Malka, we looked up to her, it was a shock for all of us," she said in a statement made this year.
Accuser's ex-husband gives evidence
The evidence of the sisters who are accusing Mrs Leifer has been heard behind doors to protect their privacy.
But Joshua Erlich, the ex-husband of Dassi Erlich, today detailed parts of their private life.
He said that shortly after the couple married in 2006, they moved to Israel and initially stayed at Ms Leifer's home.
Mr Erlich told the court that throughout their relationship, his ex-wife would speak highly of the woman she is now accusing of child sex abuse.
"All the time that she had spoken about her, she had spoken about her being in place of her mother and being a supportive figure," Mr Erlich said.
Mr Erlich said that during their first year of marriage, Ms Leifer visited Israel on a number of occasions.
"They would meet up," Mr Erlich said.
"Would you and she talk about those meetings?" asked Mr Hill, who is defending Ms Leifer.
"She would speak very positively of them," Mr Erlich said.
But the court heard that in January 2008, Mr Erlich overheard a conversation between his ex-wife and one of her sisters, Ms Meyer, about a session she had with a social worker in Israel.
Mr Erlich told the court that his wife sounded panicked and had "mentioned something about her relationship with Mrs Leifer" to the social worker, Chana Rabinowitz.
"Dassi was very worried about how it had been taken, and that Mrs Rabinowitz was going to contact other people in Melbourne to speak about it," he said.
"She was very concerned about what was going to happen next, and she was not sure why it was being taken in such a serious way."
When asked by Ms Leifer's lawyer whether the social worker had taken things "out of all proportion", Mr Erlich agreed.
"That was my sense from the conversation, yes," he said.
"Did Dassi tell you that what she had said to Mrs Rabinowitz was how Mrs Leifer had been very affectionate, how she would hug Dassi, rub her thighs and generally give her special attention," Mr Hill asked.
"That's how I remember it," Mr Erlich said.
"Over the clothes, the touching?" Mr Hall asked.
"I don't remember what kind of detail, I just remember that at the time, I didn't find it particularly concerning," Mr Erlich said.
Mr Erlich also recalled another conversation in 2011 between his ex-wife and one of her sisters, Ms Meyer, about the former principal.
"I heard them saying they wanted to call her up and to cause her problems. They were laughing about it. It seemed to me that they just wanted to harass her," he said.
"When you say they were laughing about it, do you mean that literally … as though it was a fun and exciting thing to do," Mr Hill asked.
"That was my sense," Mr Erlich said.
Under cross-examination from the prosecutor, Nannette Rogers SC, Mr Erlich said that a short time later, his ex-wife made a statement to police.
The court also heard from Vicki Gordon, a psychologist who Ms Leifer once engaged to help children at the Adass Israel school, and who was also at the meeting when the former principal was confronted with allegations of child sex abuse.
Dr Gordon is not a member of the Adass Israel community but has family connections to the ultra-orthodox group.
She said she never spoke to Ms Leifer about the allegations against her.
"Were you informed that she denied any wrongdoing," asked Mr Hill, for the defence.
"Yes, I had been informed about that," Dr Gordon said.
"Were you part of the decision to stand Mrs Leifer down?" Mr Hill asked.
"I was not part of any decision as I was not a board member or any staff member of the organisation."
Dr Gordon told the court that she was present at a board meeting where Ms Leifer was told over the phone that she was no longer to attend the school.
When asked if she knew who purchased a ticket for Ms Leifer to fly back to Israel, Dr Gordon said did not know at the time, but that has since changed.
"I believe it was the school," Dr Gordon said.
Mrs Leifer will return to court next month.
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2021-09-23 05:59:24Z
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