Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav is expected to be indicted as early as this week on charges of rape and sexual assault involving multiple women who worked for the government. He will also be charged with obstruction of justice by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.
Katsav is with the conservative Likud Party and was president from 2000 to 2007. Previously, he served as minister of tourism and the alleged rapes occurred while he held both offices.
The scandal broke after Katsav complained that a woman, known as “A”, tried to blackmail him. She would later accused Katsav of rape. That would make for a strong defense except for the fact that, after the allegation surfaced, various women came forward to say that they were also raped by Katsav.
He was offered a light plea bargain in June 2007 that would have dropped the rape charge for a guilty plea for sexual harassment and indecent acts. He would have then been given a suspended sentence and pay compensation for the crimes. He turned it down.
In April 2008, the disgraced former president announced that he would not be signing the plea bargain and would prefer to stand trial. That same day, Mazuz instructed the State Prosecutor’s Office to restore the charges the prosecution had mulled before the plea bargain.
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