Police arrested on Tuesday an IDF servicemember suspected of trying to lure minors as young as 13 to attend sex parties through social media.
According to a police statement, the suspect — a man in his 30s from central Israel — ran several Instagram accounts through which he contacted underage users. Police believe the suspect also engaged in conversations of explicit nature with them and shared adult content with them, some of it featuring other minors.
The arrest came at the tail end of a months-long undercover investigation by the Child Online Protection Bureau joint civilian-police authority after receiving a tip about the parties and complaints from concerned parents.
The investigation revealed that the suspect ran several Instagram pages under the handles @gayisrael, @orgteengay and @dateisraelgay which he allegedly used to promote sex parties for minors and adults in central Israel and introduce followers with other users seeking intimate encounters.
He allegedly asked users to fill out a form featuring intimate and invasive questions and a request for photos and personal information, after which he would add them to private groups on instant messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram where he would have erotic conversations with them which included sending videos with pedophilic content and offers to meet for sex.