Israeli Official Charged With Soliciting a US Minor

An Israeli cybersecurity official accused of soliciting a 15-year-old girl in Las Vegas has left the US after he was bonded out of jail. Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's questioned the Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, claimed the government had "release[d] a child sex predator from Israel who works directly under the prime minister of Israel." However, the State Department denied any government intervention. It said Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, 38, head of the Technological Defense Division at the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INDC), "did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge pending a court date."

Alexandrovich had allegedly made online contact with an undercover officer, whom he believed was a 15-year-old girl, per KLAS. The official, who was reportedly in Las Vegas to attend an annual meeting of cybersecurity professionals, then met up with the officer, whom he took to see Cirque du Soleil. Police say he brought a condom. "Alexandrovich stated he felt the girl 'pushed' him to talk about bringing a condom, yet could not remember how many times the girl 'pushed' him," according to court documents. He was charged with soliciting sex from a minor electronically. He posted $10,000 bond on Aug. 7 and was due back in court on Aug. 27, per the Guardian. Israeli media reported Alexanderovich instead returned to Israel.

The prime minister's office claimed a "state employee" was "questioned by American authorities during his stay" but "was not arrested and returned to Israel as scheduled." According to KLAS, Alexandrovich had posted bond before a criminal complaint was filed against him, preventing a judge from putting restrictions on his release. Alexandrovich, now said to be on leave from the INDC, was one of eight men arrested during the sting operation in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson. Another was Las Vegas Redemption church pastor Neal Harrison Creecy, 46, who allegedly thought he was meeting a 14-year-old boy, per KLAS. He also posted $10,000 bond and has since resigned.