When it was revealed that their abuser will serve extra time in prison, the sisters who were sexually raped by their ultra-Orthodox Jewish principal Malka Leifer experienced a sense of comfort and vindication.
Judge Mark Gamble of the Victorian County Court sentenced Leifer to 15 years in prison on Thursday after a jury found her guilty of 18 offences, including rape and sexual abuse.
At the Adass Israel School in Melbourne’s inner east, where she assaulted Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper from 2004 and 2007, she served as both principal and head of religious studies.
Leifer was required to serve at least 11 and a half years of the sentence for the offense, which the judge characterized as sneaky, cold, and planned.
However, he took into account the 940 days in Australia and the 1129 days she spent detained in Israel while resisting extradition, so she still has to serve at least six years before becoming eligible for parole.
Sapper regarded it as a historic day after the hearing.
She claimed that the 15-year sentence recognized the harm and suffering that Malka Leifer had subjected each of us to over a long period of time.
Although no number of years will ever be enough, we are happy that Malka Leifer has been imprisoned for 15 years and is no longer able to prey on others. Sexual assault trauma lasts a lifetime.
Erlich claimed that the sisters’ years-long struggle to bring Leifer to court was successful today because they never gave up.
Even while survivors shouldn’t be expected to fight for justice, she said, “this fight was never just for us.”
“We are demonstrating that despite the difficulties, the voices of survivors cannot and will not be silenced.”
She didn’t believe she could have survived the painful and destabilizing experience without the support of her sisters.
Nine counts against Leifer were dropped by the jury, including five against the brothers’ older sister Nicole Meyer, who was present for the entire trial.
She claimed that because they had such low expectations for Leifer’s sentencing, the outcome immediately brought them relief.
We have nothing to base it on, because female abusers are so underreported.
“We just felt so thankful that at that precise moment we felt validated.”
Despite Sapper felt guilty for what occurred to her, Judge Gamble noted in the sentence that the sisters were tenacious and remarkably cheerful.
They were utterly innocent victims of Mrs. Leifer’s predatory behavior, and only she should bear responsibility, according to Judge Gamble.
With this chapter coming to a conclusion, Erlich assured us that they would keep working to give survivors a voice.
She added, “You are never alone. We are all behind you, and we will keep working to make sure that our combined voices are not unbreakable.
Principal and CEO of Adass Israel School Aaron Strasser apologized once more for the sisters’ suffering and the effect it had on their lives and families.
“Leifer’s offending was a gross and complete breach of trust, and it is our hope that today’s sentencing provides a sense of justice for the survivors and helps them to heal,” said Strasser in a statement.
