Katsav twice raped an aide while he was a cabinet minister during the late 1990s. He molested / sexually harassed two other women who worked for him during his 2000-2007 term as president.A tribunal of three judges in Tel Aviv District Court convicted him in December, saying that his testimony had been “riddled with lies.”
“The defendant committed the acts as any man and as any man he must bear the punishment,” the judges said at sentencing last Tuesday. The judges added that his clean record and political stature were insufficient grounds for granting leniency.
So justice won out in the end.
The verdict in December was welcomed by Israeli women's groups who have long complained about sexual harassment in workplaces.
Following the verdict Katsav started shouting at the judges, even threatening them, before bursting into tears. Katsav, 65, was whisked out of court by bodyguards. A scuffle broke out when one of his sons attacked a camera crew trying to photograph the former president.
Katsav's lawyers say they will launch an appeal, which would mean going before another tribunal. Otherwise his sentence is to begin on May 8th.This scandal has been going on for years. It forced Katsav to step down as Israeli President in disgrace, although it should be noted the presidency is largely a ceremonial position with no real power (the Israeli Prime Minister is the one with the real power).
Katsav was born in Iran, raised in the slums where poor Jews and Africans lived. His family moved to Israel in 1951 and at the age of 24 became its youngest mayor and went on to hold a number of Likud cabinet posts.
Parliament elected him president in 2000 in a surprise victory over Shimon Peres, Israel’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning elder statesman. Peres later succeeded Katsav as president, restoring dignity to the post that Katsav had tarnished with his reputation for being a rapist and a molester.
See Also: The Truth about Rape Trials
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