Police reopen probe into school board that allegedly helped Malka Leifer flee to Israel
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Board members from an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school who in 2008 allegedly helped then-principal Malka Leifer flee Australia to Israel – where she for years avoided justice for sexually abusing students – are back under investigation, despite police previously ruling out charges.
Former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu, a prominent advocate for the three sisters who accused Leifer of abusing them at the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick where they were students, confirmed Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton wrote to him on Friday to say police had resumed their investigation into the school’s board.
Police confirmed on Saturday that a sexual crimes squad investigation linked to a school in Elsternwick was ongoing.
In April, Leifer was found guilty of 18 charges, including rape and indecent assault, against sisters Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich. Leifer was found not guilty of charges relating to a third sister, Nicole Meyer. The three sisters have granted The Age permission to use their names.
After the verdict against Leifer, this masthead reported that police had closed an investigation into people connected to the school board, who allegedly helped Leifer catch a 1.20am flight to Israel after a meeting to discuss abuse allegations in March 2008. The police investigation was first shut down in 2018 because there was “insufficient evidence to proceed with any charges at this time”.
Baillieu and former Victorian trade minister Philip Dalidakis wrote to Patton in late April, urging him to further investigate school board’s role in Leifer’s departure, which led to a 15-year battle to extradite the former principal from Israel to convict her in the County Court.
Patton’s response, obtained by The Age, says police suspended their school board investigation while separate criminal proceedings against Leifer were progressing, but it has now “re-commenced” the probe after the verdict.
“As criminal proceedings against Ms Leifer have been finalised, Crime Command has re-commenced their investigation into the Adass Israel School Board,” Patton wrote.
Baillieu said on Saturday that he was “very pleased”.
“It was our view that we owed it to the victims, we owed it to the police – who have done such a good job – and we owed it to the wider community [to advocate for a school board investigation]. And we’re very pleased that it would seem we’ve had some success.”
Daldakis, a former Victorian Labor upper house MP, welcomed the reinvestigation of the school board and said he recognised the difficult work involved in probing an incident that happened more than a decade ago.
“But certainly, it’s important both for the victims of the child sex-abuse case, and also important to demonstrate to people that assisted in Malka Leifer fleeing the country that there is no way that they can hide, that Victoria Police won’t be able to find them and hopefully, lay charges as well,” he said.
Leifer was extradited to Australia in January 2021, following a legal fight that took more than six years. She was charged in 2014.
The international scandal strained relations between Australia and Israel, led to the criminal prosecution of a senior Israeli parliamentarian, and required extraordinary undercover video to prove Leifer lied about having a mental illness, which prevented her extradition 10 times.
Elisheva (Elly) Sapper, Hadassa (Dassi) Erlich and Nehama (Nicole) Meyer attend court during Leifer’s trial this year.Credit: Jason South
The Age also revealed Leifer was accused of further sexual abuse in her illegal ultra-Orthodox settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In 2015, the judge who heard Erlich’s civil suit against the Adass Israel School denounced the board’s conduct after documents revealed Leifer left Australia on March 5, 2008, after senior members of the Adass community convened to discuss allegations that she had sexually assaulted the sisters.
Following the meeting, Leifer and people close to the board quickly booked plane tickets.
A police spokesperson on Saturday said because the school investigation was ongoing “and given matters linked to this remain before the court, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time”.
Leifer is awaiting sentencing for the sexual assault charges.
The Sunday Age has contacted the school and will seek further comment from representatives on Saturday night after the Sabbath ends.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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