JERUSALEM — Former President Moshe Katsav was convicted Thursday of raping an employee when he was a Cabinet minister, the most serious criminal charges ever brought against a high-ranking official in Israel and a case that shocked the nation.
Katsav, 65, faces from four to 16 years in prison for the crimes, which included two counts of raping an employee in 1998 when he was tourism minister and lesser counts of indecent acts and sexual harassment involving two other women who worked for him when he held the largely ceremonial office of president from 2000-2007.
It was a stunning fall from grace for a man who rose from poverty to the highest levels of power. He became a model of success for Sephardic Jews – those of Middle Eastern origin – who for decades were an ethnic underclass in society.
The conviction of a former president on rape charges – virtually unheard of in a modern Westernized country – was another victory in a decades-long struggle by women's rights groups to chip away at a macho culture that permitted Israel's early political and military leaders to get away with great liberties.
Katsav has denied the rape charges, claiming he was a victim of a political witch hunt and suggesting he was targeted because he is Sephardic. Katsav was born in Iran and immigrated to Israel as a child.
A somber Katsav left the courtroom without commenting, surrounded by his legal team. He was ordered to surrender his passport while awaiting sentencing at a date that has not yet been set.
Katsav's son Boaz vowed his father would clear his name.
"We will continue to walk with our heads high and all the nation ... with God's help, will know that (my) father, the eighth president of the state of Israel, is innocent," he said.
One of Katsav's lawyers, Avigdor Feldman, said he hopes his client will appeal, but he has not yet decided how to proceed.
