Malka Leifer sex abuse trial nears end as jury set to reach some unanimous verdicts
The jury in the Malka Leifer child sex abuse trial has reached unanimous verdicts on some of the charges in the case, but is yet to reveal its decision in court.
Key points:
- The 12 person jury has indicated it will be able to reach unanimous verdicts on all 27 counts
- The former Melbourne school principal is accused of sexually abusing three sisters on school grounds
- The jury will continue deliberations tomorrow morning
Mrs Leifer, the former principal of the Adass Israel school in Melbourne's inner-south east, has pleaded not guilty to 27 charges dating back two decades.
The complainants in the case are sisters Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper, former students of the school who came forward to police.
They alleged Mrs Leifer abused them in secret on the school grounds, on school camps and at the principal's home.
Mrs Leifer faced a County Court trial that heard evidence over six weeks, with the jury retiring to consider its verdicts last Wednesday.
Around 4pm this afternoon, the jury foreperson was asked by Judge Mark Gamble whether they had reached unanimous verdicts on some charges, and whether they had been unable to do so on others.
"Yes," the foreman replied.
The jury foreman agreed that with further time to deliberate, the panel of 12 could reach unanimous verdicts on all counts.
The jury was not asked to reveal the breakdown of their finalised verdicts, nor give an indication about whether they had found Mrs Leifer guilty or not guilty on any counts.
They will resume deliberations from 10:30am on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the jury passed Judge Gamble a note saying it was "unlikely" they would reach a unanimous decision on all charges.
"Can you please offer direction on a deadlock? Is it possible to use a majority verdict on charges?" they asked.
Judge Gamble told them to continue their discussions.
He said history had shown with time, juries had been able to reach conclusive decisions.
Mrs Leifer was in the dock to hear proceedings on Tuesday, as were the three sisters, who sat in the court gallery.
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