Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Israeli cybersecurity official pleads not guilty in US child sex sting case

Tom Alexandrovich is accused of soliciting an undercover agent he thought was younger than 16.

Close-up of a wooden gavel. Credit: Sora Shimazaki/Pexels.
Close-up of a wooden gavel. Credit: Sora Shimazaki/Pexels.

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an Israeli cybersecurity official whom police caught in an August child sex sting in Las Vegas, pleaded not guilty on Monday via remote video, an NBC affiliate in the city reported.

The U.S. State Department has said that he did not claim diplomatic immunity. Alexandrovich is reportedly on leave from the Israel National Cyber Directorate.

The official was allowed to return to Israel after he was arrested in Nevada. Per the indictment, he “willingly, unlawfully and knowingly” used communication tools to talk to an undercover agent whom he believed to be younger than 16 to “solicit, persuade or lure” the individual into sexual conduct.

Alexandrovich reportedly told police that he thought the person was older than 18.

“At a time when Jewish Americans are facing a deeply troubling rise in violence and harassment, it is critical to recognize organizations that have spent generations standing up to hate and defending the truth,” Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. said.
Rabbi Jason Rosner, of Congregation B’nai Emet, told JNS that “we are prepared to evacuate our Torahs if necessary.”
The PAC’s co-chairs stated that Ammar Campa-Najjar is “the only candidate campaigning on a progressive agenda in this race.”
The International Roundnet Federation no longer plans to bar the team from displaying an Israeli flag or symbols at the championships but warned that further accusations of antisemitism might lead to legal action.
Shomrim Toronto told JNS that the possibility that the girl’s disappearance is related to targeting of the Jewish community is “not something of concern at the moment.”