Ex-principal abused and threatened victims, court told
Originally scheduled to begin last year, the trial of Malka Leifer has been set to go for about six weeks.
ON the opening day of the trial of Malka Leifer, former principal at Melbourne’s Adass Israel school, the jury heard that Leifer sexually abused three students and made threats to one about what would happen if word of her conduct towards the young woman got out.
Crown prosecutor Justin Lewis told the County Court of Victoria that Leifer had implied to one of the complainants, Dassi Erlich, that if she were to tell anyone what was happening to her, she would publicise in the community that Erlich’s mother was abusive, verbally and physically, a confidence Erlich had shared with her principal.
The court heard that when Erlich tried to bond with another teacher at the school, intending to ask whether Leifer’s alleged conduct was normative, Leifer became “jealous” and forbade her from having a friendship with anyone but her.
Lewis also told the court that complainant Nicole Meyer had been sexually abused by Leifer, who told her, “This will help you for your wedding night.”
Lewis related another incident in which Leifer touched Meyer’s pubic area and said words to the effect of ‘I’ll leave that to your husband’.
Leifer, clad in a long black skirt and head wrap, appeared to be praying quietly from a religious text during today’s proceedings.
Addressing the jury at the trial’s opening, Judge Gamble instructed it to review the 29 charges it will hear, and outlined the elements of proof required for each charge.
He instructed jurors that as Leifer has pleaded not guilty to each charge, it is up to the jury to decide whether she is guilty or not guilty of each of the charges.
He urged jurors to disregard any information they had learned about the case before the trial.
The judge emphasised that although the charges will be heard in one trial, they were separate charges and each charge needed to be considered by the jury only on “the evidence that relates to it”.
He pointed out the jury’s decision on each charge must be unanimous.
The indictment against Leifer, released in a redacted form by the court on Tuesday, cited 29 charges against her, including rape, indecent assault and sexual penetration of a 16 or 17-year-old child.
The Crown Prosecutor’s charges related to alleged acts performed by Leifer between January 2003 and September 2007, while she was principal of the school.
According to the indictment, the alleged offences took place at various locations, including school camps, the school office, the school library, a school room and Leifer’s home.
Leifer, 56, has maintained she is innocent and has pleaded not guilty to the 29 charges she faces.
With a jury empanelled on Tuesday, the trial’s opening arguments began today and will continue tomorrow.
Attendance at the trial is expected to be high.
Evidence from complainants is due to be heard in a closed court – and a suppression order applies to aspects of the trial’s media coverage.
The trial, which was originally scheduled to begin last year and is expected to go for around six weeks, continues in closed court tomorrow.
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