In an almost surreal twist, the Rabbi arrested last month on child molestation charges is the father-in-law of Malka Leifer, who is currently awaiting trial in Australia on dozens of charges, stemming from her work as a principal in Melbourne.
Baruch Leifer, Rabbi in the Chust Chassidus, has been accused of multiple indecent acts against a 12 year old female relative, in addition to inappropriate acts against other children. According to media reports, many of the alleged acts happened too long ago to be prosecuted, due to the statute of limitations.
Although Baruch Leifer was arrested last month, a gag order prevented his name from being released, until a request was made by Kan News to make it public. That request was granted on Monday.
Leifer’s daughter-in-law Malka is slated to stand trial on 70 charges of extreme immorality against children at an Australian Charedi school, taking place between 2004 and 2008.
Leifer had fled to Israel after the allegations surfaced in 2008. She was extradited to Australia in January 2021.
Last month, MK Yaakov Litzman pled guilty to breach of public trust in the Leifer matter. He is suspected of stalling her extradition to Australia by pressuring a top psychiatric official to falsely declare her mentally unfit to stand trial.