First indictment filed in pedophile scandal

Jerusalem man accused of attempted sexual harassment, attempted sodomy; according to indictment, defendant tried to arrange sexual encounter with police officer posing as 12-year-old boy

Gilad Morag|Published: 08.09.12 , 11:06

A first indictment was filed in the pedophile affair which was exposed through a police sting. A 57-year-old Jerusalem resident was accused of speaking to a police agent masquerading as a 12-year-old boy and setting up a meeting with the intention of having sexual intercourse.

During one of the online chats, the defendant was asked: "What was the youngest age (you had sex with)," to which he replied: "Your age, and we had a lot of fun."

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The officer then asked: "Do you like (boys) my age?," to which the defendant replied: "Yes."

An indictment filed in the Petah Tikva District Court accused him of sexually harassing a minor under the age of 15, attempted sodomy and statutory rape. The prosecution has asked to extend the suspect's remand.

According to the indictment, the defendant told the "child" on the other side of the keyboard that he likes to "kiss and have a lot of physical contact, but only if (you) want to, and most importantly I like to take my time so that we enjoy it."

At a later stage of the investigation, the police added a female officer, who held phone conversations with the suspect, posing as the young boy. On July 25 the defendant set up a meeting with the "boy" with the intention of having sexual intercourse. When he arrived at the prearranged address, he was arrested by police officers waiting at the scene.

Last month, police arrested more than 30 suspects as part of an extensive undercover investigation, headed by the National Fraud Unit, and described as the first and largest of its kind to ever take place in the country.

The majority of the suspects have no criminal record; and include students, civil servants, a defense establishment official, a former police officer and an agronomist – to name a few.

According to the police, they range in age from 20-57 and reside all over Israel. "We can't put our finger on anything specific and say 'this is the profile,''" a source privy to the investigation said.