Sad day for Israel as former president is found guilty of rape

• Moshe Katsav is escorted by police as he leaves the courtroom after being found guilty of rape yesterdayPicture: Getty Images

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 2000-7.

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.

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 came to Israel as a child.

A sombre 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."

One of Katsav's lawyers, Avigdor Feldman, said he hopes his client will appeal, but he has not yet decided how to proceed.

Katsav can appeal the verdict, but legal experts said Israel's Supreme Court was unlikely to overturn it. A presidential pardon is also highly unlikely because of the severity of the offences. In his ruling, the judge said Katsav's defence was full of lies.

Katsav's case initially broke in 2006, when the then-president complained that a female employee was blackmailing him. The woman then went to police with her side of the story, detailing a series of sexual assaults and prompting other women to come forward with similar complaints.

According to the indictment, Katsav forced one woman to the floor of his office at the Tourism Ministry in 1998 and raped her. Later that year, he summoned her to a Jerusalem hotel to go over paperwork and raped her on the bed in his room.The indictment alleged that Katsav tried to calm his victim by saying: "Relax, you'll enjoy it."

The indictment also alleged that he harassed two women during his term as president, embracing them against their will and making unwanted sexual comments.

The conviction by a three-judge panel was widely praised as a victory for Israel's legal system and for women's rights.

"The court sent two clear and sharp messages: that everyone is equal and every woman has the full right to her body," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. He also called the verdict a sad day for Israel and its citizens.

Katsav grew up in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi, where he was elected mayor, Israel's youngest ever, at age 24. At the time, he campaigned on an anti-establishment message against Israel's European leadership. He rose through the ranks of the Likud Party, holding a series of Cabinet posts.

Katsav resigned in 2007, two weeks before his seven-year term expired, under a plea bargain that would have required him to admit to lesser charges of sexual misconduct.

But in a dramatic reversal in April 2009, Katsav rejected the deal, which would have kept him out of jail, and vowed to clear his name in court.