Teacher to face court

Accused sex abuser Leifer on way to Melbourne

FUGITIVE Australian teacher Malka Leifer is on her way back to Melbourne in handcuffs to face child sex abuse charges.

She was bundled on to an aircraft at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport for a flight to Melbourne, via Frankfurt.

Images taken from the tarmac show Leifer was taken under the cover of darkness on to the flight, ending an embarrassing chapter for Israel.

Three security guards, all wearing protective equipment because of COVID-19 restrictions, led her on to the aircraft.

Israeli authorities had last week refused to reveal when Leifer would be sent to Australia, however it had to be arranged within 60 days of her final appeal, which was in early December.

One of her alleged victims, Dassi Erlich said on Monday night: “Leifer is on the way back to Australia.”

Amichai Stein, of Israeli broadcaster Kann, said on Monday night: “Malka Leifer, facing allegations of child sex abuse in Australia, has been extradited from Israel to Australia and is on her way to the country.”

Leifer was accused of sexually abusing Melbourne sisters Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper when she was at the school in Elsternwick in Melbourne.

The sisters, who waived their right to anonymity, have run a campaign to get her back to Australia.

Leifer, 52, had taken every possible step to avoid facing justice in Australia.

She fled in 2008, shortly after the sisters had raised their complaint with leaders at Adass Israel School.

Leifer, a mother of eight, had moved to Australia in 2000 to take up a job as the new head of Jewish studies.

But within two years, the charismatic teacher from Bnei Brak, an insular ultraorthodox area of Israel, west of Tel Aviv, had become the school’s principal.

It was alleged that she groomed the three sisters, who did not tell each other about the alleged abuse at the time.

Elly Sapper filed a police complaint in 2011 against Leifer, which kicked off the probe, with her sisters also making official statements.

Leifer was arrested in 2014, but then released in 2016 after she claimed that she was too unwell to stand trial in Australia.

However, video footage later showed to a Jerusalem court, contradicting her claims.

She was rearrested in 2018 and dragged the case through 74 court hearings before she exhausted every avenue of appeal.