Malka Leifer's sexual abuse survivors disgusted at perks inside max security Melbourne prison

News.com.au

09-05-2025

The twisted ex-headmistress who raped school girls in her care has been living it up behind bars at a maximum security prison outside Melbourne, an inmate has revealed.
Malka Leifer, 58, was in charge of the ultra-orthadox Addas Israel School in Elsternwick when she sexually abused students in her care. She was jailed for 15 years in 2023 after a drawn-out process to have her extradited from Israel where she had fled.
She now resides at the protection unit inside the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on Melbourne's outskirts.
News.com.au spoke exclusively with a former inmate of the facility who was released in March. She previously told this publication that Leifer had become involved in an intimate relationship with notorious conwoman Samantha Azzopardi, 36, while locked up.
The pair had been sharing secret notes, spending time in an area of the prison with no cameras and shared a public kiss on at least one occasion.
The inmate now says Leifer is 'disliked' in prison because she is 'arrogant, entitled' and receives perks that other inmates do not.
'Malka has a microwave in her room, cooking equipment in her room, gets special orders every Thursday,' said the former inmate who spoke to news.com.au on condition of anonymity.
'Some things I can't even explain to you. If she wants something, she gets it. She wanted an airfyer and had members of the Jewish community to write authorities about it. She gets whatever she wants.'
The former inmate said Leifer has the ability to bake challat — a braided bread that the Jewish community eats for Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, which is observed every Saturday.
Leifer's victims, sisters Nicole Meyer, Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich, were disgusted when they heard about Leifer's treatment in prison.
'The fact she gets everything. That she is able to bake for Shabbat. That was like 'wow',' Elly said.
'Her arrogance was obvious when she was before the courts so that doesn't surprise me. It sounds like she got her power back.
'To hear that she's doing this brings back so much of the way she acted in court which was no remorse and arrogance. It kind of brings out this anger again. It's shocking.
'I know she's Jewish religious. But that doesn't mean she should get a microwave? She can get food from a catering company. It's not necessary to keep up her religion. They are capable of giving her everything she needs. I think it's unfair. And it makes me wonder who is approving these demands?'
News.com.au approached the Victorian Department of Corrections for comment. A spokesperson said they do not comment on individuals inside the prison system.
The former inmate said Leifer spent a lot of time with Azzopardi inside the protection unit. Azzopardi is serving time for posing as a 17-year-old sex-trafficked school girl from Belgium named Hattie Leigh and collecting more than $20,000 meant for victims of domestic violence.
She has previously spent time behind bars for a series of high-profile cons and child stealing and was the subject of the documentary Con Girl in 2023.
'Malka was a loner, she used to sit in her room a lot. Sam came along and started roping her in, sharing gossip. Taking her washing off the line. Then Malka would cut up fruit for Sam and leave fruit bags for her in her fridge,' the former inmate said.
'The whole relationship was weird from the start. When Sam initially came in, she had Malka wrapped around her finger in days. Malka was looking for someone to groom, Sam looking for someone to con. Sam acts young, that's the type of girl Malka likes.'
The former Dame Phyllis Frost Centre inmate said Leifer and Azzopardi were often seen together in the laundry at the protection unit of the maximum security prison. She said it is the only area where there are no security cameras.
Leifer's victims said they found it disturbing that the predator would form a relationship with somebody so much younger than she is — particularly given the fact that many of Azzopardi's prior cons involved her playing the role of a vulnerable 'schoolgirl'.
'I'm shocked but not surprised,' Dassi said.
'This is exactly how Malka Leifer operates. She seeks out vulnerability, builds trust and exploits it.
'She did it to me, and now allegedly to another woman in prison.
'The fact that (Azzopardi) has a history of impersonating children displays clear emotional instability, making her exactly the kind of person Leifer has always targeted.
'This proves she has not changed. Even under strict supervision, Leifer is still manipulating.'