Former Israeli President Moshe Katzav was indicted Thursday on two counts of forcible sexual relations and two counts of sexual harassment.
Katzav, who was indicted in the Tel Aviv District Court, was charged with abusing the power of his office to coerce female workers into sexual relations with him.
One of the counts was related to repeated incidents between Katzav and a female employee referred to in the case as "A," that occurred between 1998-1999 when she worked as his executive assistant at the Tourism Ministry.
A little over a year ago, a five-judge Supreme Court panel unanimously approved a plea bargain that had been reached between Katzav and the Attorney General's office, despite numerous petitions by women's groups to scrap the deal. The plea bargain, however, never was fulfilled, because Katzav reneged on the deal just days after it was finalized. Thursday's indictment came as charges were renewed.
The agreement would have allowed Katzav to escape facing rape charges in return for pleading guilty to charges of sexual harassment, to pay a fine of NIS 50,000 to his alleged victims, and to accept a sentence of probation.
Katzav suspended himself from office when the charges were first publicized, until the remainder of his term ran out, thus initially sparing himself from facing indictment and ensuring that he would continue to receive the financial and other benefits of his position.