Prosecutors say three sisters who have accused former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer of sexual abuse are credible witnesses, even though their allegations about what happened have changed over the years.
Warning: This story contains details of allegations of sexual abuse.
Mrs Leifer has pleaded not guilty to 27 charges of sexually abusing sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper between 2003 and 2007.
The former Adass Israel School principal is facing a County Court trial and is accused of committing offences against the sisters in offices, on camps and at her own home.
Prosecutors have claimed Mrs Leifer took advantage of the vulnerable girls, who had a troubled home life and little understanding about sex due to their conservative upbringing.
Allegations against Mrs Leifer were raised in 2008, when Ms Erlich made disclosures to a counsellor in Israel. Her two sisters later came forward with similar allegations.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Justin Lewis said the complainants had given statements between 2011 and 2021, and conceded elements of their stories had changed.
"Witnesses are human beings. As a result they have a number of fallibilities," he said.
"Memory is simply not like watching a video and looking at a picture."
Accused 'revered as much as a rabbi', court hears
Mr Lewis said Ms Meyer initially did not tell police about sexual penetration allegations, and Ms Sapper had been mistaken about where certain events took place.
He said the sisters were suffering significant trauma when making their statements, and had tried their "level best" to correct any mistakes.
Mr Lewis said the sisters were "cross examined for days" at the trial and had given "lengthy and detailed accounts" of alleged incidents.
He said their credibility was bolstered by the fact they were not always critical of Mrs Leifer, who was appointed principal of the Adass Israel School in 2001 and was "revered as much as a rabbi" in the ultra-Orthodox community.
Mr Lewis told the jury they should take into consideration what he described as Mrs Leifer's "tendency to have a sexual interest in girls", when deciding whether she was guilty.
"It's an added piece of evidence you can take into account," he said.
On Wednesday, Mr Lewis took the jury through each of the charges, relaying the alleged incidents in graphic detail.
He said there was a "significant power imbalance" between Mrs Leifer and the sisters.
While recounting one of the rape allegations at the school, Mr Lewis said Ms Meyer "remembers freezing and staring at the accused's desk".
Mrs Leifer, who was watching proceedings from the court dock, kept her eyes shut for lengthy periods as the allegations against her were read out.
Prosecutors are set to continue their closing arguments on Thursday before Mrs Leifer's defence team, spearheaded by barrister Ian Hill, provides its rebuttal.
Mrs Leifer's trial has now entered its fifth week, and has heard evidence from the three complainants, police, school staff, counsellors and psychologists. The defence elected not to call Mrs Leifer or other witnesses to the stand.
With the trial now approaching a critical stage, Judge Mark Gamble told the jury not to talk about the case with others and encouraged them to steer clear of reading news reports.
At the start of the trial, Mrs Leifer was facing 29 charges, however, earlier this week she was acquitted of two counts of an indecent act with a 16- or 17-year-old child.
The legislation used against Mrs Leifer for those charges came into effect on December 1, 2006. However, the court heard if the alleged offending relating to those charges did occur, it was during November 2006.
