Malka Leifer, the former principal of the Adass Israel School, will be sentenced today for the sexual abuse of Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper.
Psychological reports accused Leifer of feigning mental illness to avoid extradition, a finding backed by prosecutor Justin Lewis.The 56-year-old mother of eight arrived back in Australia to face justice in 2020 and was convicted after a trial earlier this year.Erlich said the darkness Leifer had created in her through the abuse would not define her."I am resilient, I am powerful and I am so much more than the limitations you chose to impose on me.
Judge Gamble is expected to take into account the time Leifer spent in Israel, including in home detention, when he hands down the sentence. Her barrister, Ian Hill KC, described that time as punitive, confined to a space away from her husband and children. While she could have visitors, she missed religious duties and functions and was under constant supervision, he said.A former colleague, Malky Fixler, said she had gone from an "upbeat and inspiring educator to an isolated, depressed shadow of her former self".
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