Pedophile caught at home with 2 girls, open fly

Parole officers arrive at home of known sex offender only to find him in company of young girls aged 7, 10; arrested, remand extended despite denials of indecent motives

Raanan Ben Zur|Published: 05.18.13 , 11:14

A known sex-offender in his mid-50s was arrested after being caught with two young girls and his fly open in the backyard of his Shomron community home. He is suspected of violating the conditions of his parole, namely the prohibition of interacting with minors.

However, during investigation the man vehemently denied the allegations, claiming his interaction with the girls was innocent and devoid of any sexual character. Nonetheless, the judge ruled that his remand was to be extended by three days.

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Forces from the Israeli Prison Service's Tsur unit – the unit charged with overseeing released sex offenders still under court-ordered surveillance – arrived Friday evening at the man's home only to find him in the company of two young girls aged seven and 10, despite the fact that the conditions of his parole clearly specify that he was forbidden from interacting with minors without supervision or from allowing them into his residence.

The man was immediately taken into police custody were he underwent interrogation. During his questioning he admitted meeting with the girls, but denied the interaction had any sexual nature.

According to him, the girls arrived at his house two weeks prior to the incident to request he fix their bicycles for them. When the IPS forces arrived, he claimed, the two girls had only dropped by to pick up their now functional bikes.

The man was brought before the Petah Tikva District Court, and his remand was expended for three additional days.

In arguing for the extension, police noted that the man's parole conditions were specified in August 2011 for a four-year period, and that he had in fact already violated them prior to his arrest upon meeting the girls for the first time, an incident he does not deny.

The man's defense claimed that the violation was only a minor offence and that the his interaction with the girls lasted only a manner of minutes and was devoid of any sexual nature.

More over, his lawyer further noted that since his release the man's parole record was unblemished.

Upon granting police's request and issuing a three-day extension for his remand, the presiding judge, Justice Yael Blecher, said that "the evidence invoked a reasonable suspicion that the man failed to fulfill the conditions of his parole, and therefore created the grounds for his arrest."