Sex crimes conviction

In August 2005, Goldblatt was arrested on suspicion of acts of rape and sodomy at various acting students, among them several minors, who came to his apartment to study acting. His arrest came after three young women complained to police. Six more women came forward and pressed charges soon afterward, although two of these cases could not be prosecuted as the statute of limitations had expired. Some of the complainants had been minors when the offenses were carried out. Police determined there was sufficient evidence for an indictment, and Goldblatt was indicted in the Tel Aviv District Court on August 21, 2005. Goldblatt denied the accusations and pleaded not guilty, claiming he never forced himself on any of the complainants. On July 3, 2008, following a lengthy trial, Goldblatt was convicted of two counts of rape and sodomy, two counts of indecent assault, committing an indecent act, abuse of authority, and aggravated fraud. He was acquitted of two counts of attempted indecent assault, one count of assault, one count of attempted rape, and one count of fraud.^[1][2][3][4] The court referred to Goldblatt's assertion, noting:

In our case, in all of the charges the defendant argued that the complainants distorted reality or cherry picked random details and connect those details incorrectly. In all of the charges he claimed that the acts were committed as part of a mutual agreement and as part of a romance or fling, and that in none of the events he intended to deceive the complainants. Nevertheless, the actions described by the complainants whose complaints became outdated, as well as the charges in the indictment indicate that there is no basis for the defendant's claim that the relations were mutually agreed upon, and that he is innocent, and had no intention to deceive any one, and they sufficiently prove a criminal intent, as opposed to a random act.^[5]

The court noted that "the events took place over many years, beginning in 1986 and lasted until 2004" and various other women were also offended, but due to the statute of limitations Goldblatt would only be tried on his subsequent offenses.

During his trial, Goldblatt noted that in some cases he was frivolous, and that some of the complainants' were offended by him in one way or another. Goldblatt was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment, 2 years probation, and was ordered to pay 25,000 NIS in compensation to two of the victims.^[6] Goldblatt appealed to the Supreme Court on his conviction and of the punishment imposed on him. In February 2011 the Supreme Court partially accepted Goldblatt's appeal (as it replaced one of the two rape offenses of which he was convicted with fraud under aggravating circumstances), and cut his prison sentence by one year.^[7] In 2009, the state began seizing Goldblatt's assets after he refused to pay court-ordered compensation to two his victims, and ignored two demands for 50,000 NIS.^[8]

On November 19, 2012, Goldblatt was granted early release by the Board of Pardons for good behavior in prison and participation in rehabilitation programs. His actual release was delayed a week for the prosecution to appeal.^[9] On November 25, 2012, Goldblatt was released from prison after having served four years. He confessed that he had been guilty, and apologized for his actions.^[10]