8 More Victims of Malka Leifer Suing Chareidie Girl's School in Australia , One "new" Victim Just Settled

 

A former student has settled a legal claim against Adass Israel School, the former employer of convicted rapist Malka Leifer over new allegations of abuse connected to the ultra-Orthodox inner-Melbourne religious college.

The Chareidie woman, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Adass community, filed a suit against Leifer and the Adass Israel School over fresh allegations of abuse.

She settled the case on Tuesday morning, hours before the trial was due to begin.

The new claim comes just a month after Leifer faced a six-week trial in the County Court for abusing sisters Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper, with a jury finding she raped Erlich and Sapper. 

If heard, the new legal claim threatened to reopen the role of the school in hiring and failing to stop Leifer from abusing children for whom she had responsibility.

The settlement comes after demonstrations were being planned by Chareidim against the victim, calling on the community to come together and rally outside the woman’s house, so that the new allegations don't come to light!

Voice Against Child Abuse chief executive Manny Waks said: "We note with disgust that a protest was organised by members of the Adass Israel community this evening, outside the family home of the alleged victim/survivor, in an effort to intimidate and pressure her from pursuing justice."

The statement included screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation purporting to rally protesters.

"We are organising a protest outside the house tonight 9pm. Trying to get at least 20 people. . Please! It's a serious situation! We have 15 people but need much more!" the message read.

Another message Mr Waks said came from the school urged against any protest, saying: "Such behavior does not help the school, the community, or the plaintiff."

Supreme Court justice Melinda Richards on Tuesday congratulated the parties on resolving the case, saying she appreciated “it was a difficult thing for both sides to do” and that the court “was very appreciative you’ve been able to reach that stance”.

Leifer was originally listed as a co-defendant in the fresh case but was removed after a default judgment had already been entered against her.

In a 2015 decision made after a civil case Erlich brought against the school, Supreme Court Justice Jack Rush said it was apparent that within a day of the school becoming aware of the allegations, it knew of “a further eight person’s [sic] affected by Mrs Leifer’s alleged misconduct” and awarded Erlich $1,024,428.

The jury found Leifer guilty of 18 rape and sexual assault charges and not guilty of nine. 

The former principal’s prosecution became an international scandal when she was rushed out of the country in the middle of the night in March 2008, after allegations of her sexual abuse against students began to mount. She would not return to Victoria to face justice for more than 10 years.

Last month, police confirmed to this masthead they had closed their investigation into members of the community who allegedly helped Leifer flee Australia and avoid justice for more than a decade.

Police said they had looked at a number of people connected to the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick, but the probe ended in 2018 because there was “insufficient evidence to proceed with any charges at this time”.

Questions have persisted in the past 15 years over the circumstances of Leifer’s quick escape to Israel when accusations of sexual abuse began to mount.

Leifer and members of her family escaped on the night of March 5, 2008, following a meeting that senior members of the Adass community convened to discuss allegations that Leifer had sexually assaulted the sisters, according to Supreme Court documents from Erlich’s civil case against Leifer and the school, heard in 2015.

Following the meeting, Leifer and people close to the board quickly booked plane tickets. Leifer and her family were on a flight to Israel at 1.20am, the documents say. She would remain beyond the reach of Victorian police for more than 10 years.

Rush, in his 2015 decision, also found “the timing of the booking of the tickets and departure of Leifer and members of her family … extraordinary". 

“The conduct demonstrates a disdain for due process of criminal investigation in this state,” he said.

Nobody has ever been charged for helping Leifer flee the jurisdiction [https://www.theage.com.au/link/follow-20170101-p5ct3a].