Israeli networks are reporting that a Jerusalem rabbi arrested last month on suspicion of committing sexual offenses is Baruch Leifer, the father-in-law of accused sexual assailant Malka Leifer.
The arrest of Leifer, which has been reported for weeks abroad, has been gagged in Israel.
Leifer is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a family member when she was 12, and of sexual offenses against another man when he was 18, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Leifer is a former leader of the Khust Hasidic sect.
His daughter-in-law Malka Leifer is in Australia where she is charged with at least 74 counts of sexual offenses against girls at the Melbourne school where she was a principal.
She had fought extradition from Israel for several years, straining ties between Jerusalem and Canberra.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 14, 2022
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