Ex-Israeli President Gets 7 Years in Rape Case

Moshe Katsav faces between 4 and 16 years in prison

(NEWSER) - Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav likely faces four to 16 years in prison after being convicted of raping an employee in 1998 when he was a Cabinet minister, reports the AP . Katsav was president of Israel from 2000 to 2007, but resigned two weeks before his 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. More»

(NEWSER) - Israel's top lawman will charge ex-President Moshe Katsav with raping and sexually harassing his former employees, the BBC reports. In the latest development of a nearly 3-year legal drama, Israeli officials said that "the complainants' testimony was reliable and that there is sufficient evidence for an indictment." Katsav had agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges in 2007, but changed his mind last year. More»

Investigation may have found 12-time serial rapist

(NEWSER) - When cops arrested Aaron Thomas and charged him with being the infamous East Coast Rapist, the 39-year-old unemployed truck driver apparently had one question: "What took you so long to get me?" A prosecutor says Thomas has admitted his “involvement in numerous, alleged rapes,” while in custody. He was in court today in Connecticut, reports the New Haven Register , where he faced charges in the rapes of two trick-or-treating teenagers in Virginia, a Connecticut woman assaulted in front of her sleeping infant, and others. Authorities say they've linked Thomas by DNA to at least 12 attacks involving 17 women. More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - An Arab man has been found guilty of rape after having consensual sex with a Jewish woman who believed he was also Jewish. Sabbar Kashur, 30, met the woman in downtown Jerusalem and told her that he was a Jewish bachelor who was interested in a long-term relationship. They had consensual sex, but when the woman later discovered he was actually an Arab (and presumably not looking for a long-term relationship, either), she filed rape charges; he was convicted of "rape by deception," reports the Guardian . More»

California's John Gardner will serve 2 life sentences

(USER SUBMITTED) - Confirming suspicions that have swirled since his arrest for the murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King, John Gardner admitted yesterday to killing both King and 14-year-old Amber Dubois almost a year earlier. The San Diego district attorney won't seek the death penalty against Gardner, reports NBC San Diego , who had guided authorities to the skeletal remains of Dubois after his arrest on condition that that could not be used against him. Gardner, a 31-year-old convicted sex offender, will likely serve two life sentences, plus additional time for other offenses. More»