Malka Leifer fled to Israel, where she remained until 2021 due to a legal battle with her extradition after 3 sisters alleged they were abused, according to reports.
An Australian jury found the former principal of a Jewish girl's school guilty of sexually abusing students.
An Israeli mother of eight, Malka Leifer, 56, was convicted by a Melbourne County Court on Monday on 18 counts related to raping and sexually abusing two students from 2003 to 2007 while she was the head of religion, and later principal, at Adass Israel School, according to the Associated Press.
Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich, and Elly Sapper, all sisters, came forward with the allegations in 2008 after Erlich told her social worker about the abuse, the AP reported. After these accusations were made, Leifer fled to Israel where she remained until 2021 due to a legal battle with her extradition, said the news source.
The three sisters shared that Leifer abused them in locked classrooms, at the principal's home, and at school camps while they were students and when they returned to the school as student teachers, according to the BBC.
The prosecutor on the case, Justin Lewis, claimed that Leifer took advantage of her position and the girls' vulnerability due to their ultra-conservative Jewish upbringing, which gave them little knowledge about sex, BBC reported.
"Knowing that they were neglected at home, she pretended that she loved them and told them that she was helping them," Mr. Lewis argued, according to BBC.
Leifer’s defense, Ian Hill, argued that the allegations from the sisters were based on “false imaginations and false memories,” according to the Independent.
The mother of eight was charged with 27 counts related to the sexual abuse of the three sisters but was acquitted of nine of the counts, five relating to Meyer and 4 related to Erlich, the BBC reported.
“No matter the outcome and the non guilty verdicts I know my truth. Malka Leifer abused me for 6.5 years. I said my truth as did my sisters and she can no longer deny her guilt. She has been found guilty and justice has been served,” said Nicole Meyer in a Facebook post.
Leifer is to return to the court on April 26 so that date for her sentencing can be made, according to the Independent.
