LOS ANGELES: US prosecutors have denied allegations of a cover-up in the case involving an Israeli government official arrested in a child sex sting operation.
Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the Israel Cyber Directorate, was taken into custody in Las Vegas earlier this month. He had arrived for what he believed was a meeting with a 15-year-old girl, according to local reports.
Alexandrovich allegedly brought a condom to the planned rendezvous, which he thought would include watching a Cirque du Soleil performance.
The 38-year-old official was actually meeting an undercover police officer during his visit for the Black Hat USA 2025 cybersecurity conference. He faced charges of soliciting a minor for sex and was released on $10,000 bail.
The court ordered Alexandrovich to appear on August 27, but he returned to Israel shortly after posting bail. This decision sparked significant online criticism, particularly regarding allowing someone facing up to 10 years imprisonment to leave the country.
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene led the criticism, questioning the special treatment given to the Israeli official.
Greene wrote on social media platform X, “Would it be antisemitic to drag Netanyahu’s Cyber Executive Director back and prosecute him to the full extent of the law?”
She further questioned, “How did America become so subservient to Israel that we immediately release a CHILD SEX PREDATOR after arrest?”
The State Department denied any federal government involvement in assisting the official from the key Middle Eastern ally.
A department statement confirmed awareness of the arrest but clarified Alexandrovich did not claim diplomatic immunity. “Any claims that the US government intervened are false,“ the statement emphasized.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson defended the handling of the case on Tuesday. He explained that the $10,000 bail amount represented standard procedure for such charges.
“Anybody, upon being booked on that charge, can post that bail and get released with no conditions,“ Wolfson told the Las Vegas Review Journal. He insisted there was nothing unusual about Alexandrovich’s release process. – AFPpix