Victoria Police has backflipped and reopened its investigation into the board of Melbourne’s ultra-orthodox Adass Israel School for its role in helping convicted sex offender Malka Leifer flee Australia.
The surprise move could see senior Jewish community figures and others charged over the decision to send the former school principal to Israel in March 2008 when they knew she had been accused by her former students of sexual assault.
Ms Leifer, who is awaiting sentencing on 18 counts of sexual assault against two former students, was put on a flight to Israel at 1.20am on March 6, 2008, only hours after the school board learned of the allegations against her. The move meant Ms Leifer was able to evade Australian courts for more than a decade.
In a civil judgment against the school in 2016, former Victorian Supreme Court Justice Jack Rush stated: “In such circumstances the alleged perpetrator should not be assisted to urgently flee the jurisdiction. The failure of the board to report the allegations to police prior to arranging Leifer’s urgent departure is deplorable.”
Dassi Erlich, one of Ms Leifer’s victims, welcomed the decision, saying the actions of the school board had perpetrated the anguish of her victims and delayed justice. “I am encouraged by the decision of the police to reopen the case against the school board,” Ms Erlich told the Weekend Australian.
Read the article by Cameron Stewart in The Australian.