Malka Leifer ordered to stand trial on 70 charges of sexual abuse, rape

• Published date: 23 September 2021
• Author: JERUSALEM POST STAFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Leifer is accused of sexually abusing three of her students in the early 2000s and attempted to evade the legal consequences by fleeing to Israel in 2008. She was extradited to Australia after six years of legal battles.

The former principal had claimed mental illness since extradition proceedings were initiated in 2014. Last year, the Jerusalem District Court ruled she was fit for trial and then ordered her extradition.

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The Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, rejected all of Leifer's appeals.

After being arrested in 2014, she claimed mental illness to avoid extradition to Australia. The claim was eventually accepted by the Jerusalem District psychiatrist and the court, and legal proceedings against her were dropped.

But in 2018, Leifer was...