Arrest of Tom Alexandrovich

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In August 2025, Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a senior Israeli official, was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, and charged with soliciting a minor, a felony. [1] Alexandrovich was among 8 individuals arrested during a 2-week undercover sting operation targeting child sex predators. [2]

Contents

Alexandrovich was subsequently released and allowed to return to Israel. [3]

Background

Alexandrovich is executive director of the defense division at the Israel National Cyber Directorate. He was in Las Vegas to attend the Black Hat computer security conference. [4] [5] [6]

Arrest, release, and court proceedings

Alexandrovich was arrested in a child sex predator sting operation in Henderson, Nevada, about 16 miles (26 km) southeast of downtown Las Vegas. [7] He was charged with cyber-luring a child for a sex act, a felony that carries up to 10 years in prison and booked into detention. Released the next day on $10,000 bail, he returned to Israel two days later, despite felony charges and lack of diplomatic immunity. [8] He was scheduled to appear in court on August 27. [1] Alexandrovich did not appear for his arraignment hearing in Henderson that date and was ordered to appear remotely the following week. His lawyers said that he had a deal with the district attorney to not have to appear in person, which was denied by the judge, who held that the DA had no authority to grant such a request. [9] [10]

In response to the incident, the Cyber Directorate claimed that "the directorate has not received additional details through authorized channels to date. Should such details be received, the directorate will act accordingly. At this stage, by joint decision, the employee has gone on leave to deal with the matter until things become clear." [8] [11] [12]

Reaction

Alexandrovich's release was criticized by House Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie. [13] On August 18, 2025, the United States Department of State issued a statement affirming it had no role in his release to Israel. [14] Nevada's Acting U.S. Attorney, Sigal Chattah, stated that the prosecution was being handled by the Clark County District Attorney's office, not federal authorities, and criticized Nevada state authorities for not requiring Alexandrovich to surrender his passport, which allowed him to flee the country. Chattah further noted that Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel expressed concern over the incident and called for Alexandrovich's immediate return to face justice. [3] On August 19, 2025, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson described the arrest and bail as "standard". [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Gabbatt, Adam; Vargas, Ramon Antonio (2025-08-19). "Israeli government official charged with soliciting 15-year-old girl in Las Vegas". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  2. ↑ "Press Releases | Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department". www.lvmpd.com. Archived from the original on 2025-08-17. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  3. 1 2 Harb, Ali. "How was an alleged Israeli 'child sex predator' allowed to leave the US?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  4. ↑ "Israel Aviation Cybersecurity Summit (IACS) III". Cyber Week Tel Aviv University. Archived from the original on 2025-08-21. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
  5. ↑ "HOME-TOM ALEXANDROVICH". Cybertech Israel. Archived from the original on 2025-08-17. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  6. 1 2 Dillon, Akiya (2025-08-19). "Under attack by U.S. attorney, DA says Israeli official's child sex sting bail was 'standard'". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  7. ↑ "Eight Child Sex Predators Arrested During Undercover Operation". lvmpd.com. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  8. 1 2 Vargas, Ramon Antonio. "Israeli government official arrested in Nevada in internet crimes against children sting". The Guardian.
  9. ↑ Satter, Raphael; Satter, Raphael (2025-08-28). "Israeli official accused of Nevada sex crime ordered to appear in court via Zoom". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  10. ↑ Dillon, Akiya Dillon (2025-08-27). "Judge orders remote appearances for Israeli official in child luring case". Las Vegas Review-Journal . Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  11. ↑ "Israel Cyber Directorate employee arrested in America". The Jerusalem Post. 2025-08-16. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  12. ↑ Eichner, Itamar. "Despite denials, documents confirm senior Israeli cyber official arrested in US pedophilia sting". Ynetnews.
  13. ↑ Axelrod, Tal (2025-08-20). "MAGA erupts after Israeli official charged in child sex ring flees U.S." Axios. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  14. ↑ Singh, Kanishka; Satter, Raphael; Singh, Kanishka; Satter, Raphael (2025-08-19). "US denies intervening in case of Israeli official accused of Nevada sex crime". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
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