Accused pedophile Malka Leifer is expected to face court on home soil today in Melbourne following her extradition from Israel.
The former school principle and alleged child sex abuser fled to Israel in 2008 and has finally been extradited back to Australia after a 13-year-long legal battle.
Ms Leifer is facing 74 charges of sexual abuse and rape stemming from her time as principle of the Adass Israel School for ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls in Elsternwick.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said "Ms Leifer's return to Australia marks the end of a very long and complicated extradition”.
"The arrival of Ms Leifer in Australia will bring relief to alleged victims . It is now important that the legal processes are allowed to proceed in Victoria without commentary which could affect that process," he said.
Extradited teacher appears in Australia court on sex charges
FILE - This Feb. 27, 2018, file photo, Israeli-born Australian Malka Leifer, right, is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem. The former teacher extradited from Israel after a six-year legal battle appeared in an Australian court Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, to face child sex abuse charges.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File) January 27, 2021 - 9:50 PM
MELBOURNE, Australia - A former teacher extradited from Israel after a six-year legal battle appeared in an Australian court Thursday to face child sex abuse charges.
Malka Leifer, 54, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court by video link from a police station where she is in COVID-19 quarantine.
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Crime by Caroline Schelle Nearly a decade after leaving the country, former principal Malka Leifer is back in Melbourne to face court on child sex abuse allegations. The former principal of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Adass Israel School is expected to front Melbourne Magistrates Court at 10am Thursday after her plane touched down overnight. Ms Leifer is accused of sexually abusing three of her former students between 2001 and 2008 but has denied all the allegations. Former Australian teacher Malka Leifer is expected to face court on Thursday on sex abuse charges. Picture: Ynet News. The 54-year-old woman fought her extradition back to Australia for six years through the Israeli court system, but her last appeal was rejected in December after more than 74 hearings.
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Wearing a headscarf, she sat with her head in her hands during the 20-minute hearing where the 74 charges against her were read in court for the first time. She did not respond when Magistrate Johanna Metcalf asked if she could see and hear the proceedings.
Guards in the room with Leifer confirmed that the audio-visual link was working.
She previously has maintained her innocence against accusations of sexually abusing several former students at a Jewish school in Melbourne.
The 74 charges include 11 of rape and three of sexually penetrating a child. There were also 47 counts of indecent assault and 13 of committing an indecent act with a child. It was not immediately clear what the maximum penalty would be that she could face.