Former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer will be sentenced today after being found guilty of child sexual abuse and rape in April.

The jury found her guilty of 18 offences, which included indecent assault, rape and sexual penetration of a 16 or 17-year-old of Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper when they were students at Adass Israel School between 2004 and 2007.

In Victoria, the standard sentence for rape is 10 years in jail, however a maximum sentence can be up to 25 years.

Leifer was the principal of the school, based in Elsternwick in Melbourne’s inner south-east, who recruited her from Israel in 2001.

In March of 2008, Leifer was stood down from the school after allegations arose about her sexual misconduct. The next day she left for Israel where she would stay for over a decade.

It would take until late 2020 for Leifer’s extradition to Australia to be finalised.

In a statement made after Leifer was found guilty, Adass Israel School principal Aaron Strasser apologised to her abusers.

“We are sorry for the distress they have suffered and the impact of that abuse on their lives and families,” he said.

“We commend the survivors’ bravery in coming forward.”

Leifer will not be in attendance at the sentencing, watching the proceedings by video link from the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, which is Melbourne’s maximum security women’s prison.

Photo: Going a’courting by Lancetre available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.