The former principal of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls’ school in Australia was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in jail for sexually abusing two students more than a decade ago.
In April, a jury found the principal, Malka Leifer, guilty of 18 counts of sexual abuse, including rape, and sexual penetration and indecent assault of a 16- or 17-year-old.
She was acquitted on nine charges, including rape and indecent assault.
The charges, to which Ms. Leifer pleaded not guilty, spanned from 2003 to 2007, when she was principal of the Adass Israel School in Melbourne.
Prosecutors said that the sexual abuse, which occurred at the school, on school camping trips and at Ms. Leifer’s house, began when the girls were students and continued when they became student teachers.
Persons:
Malka Leifer, Leifer, Leifer’s
Organizations:
Adass Israel School, Prosecutors
Locations:
Australia, Melbourne, Israel