Third man charged after police pedophile sting

The 36-year-old defendant, among 27 suspected pedophiles arrested earlier, allegedly met boys as young as 13 for sex.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
Man on computer 390 (photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Man on computer 390
(photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
The Central District Attorney on Tuesday charged a 36- year-old man with multiple counts of sodomy against a 13-year-old boy, in what was the third indictment filed so far following a massive police sting operation targeting child sex offenders.
The defendant, named only as Gimmel in the indictment, cannot be identified because of a gag order.
Gimmel was remanded in custody two weeks ago as part of a wave of arrests following the police sting, during which a police agent posing as a 12-year-old child made contact with him.
In addition to charges of sodomy against a minor aged under 14 and under 16, Gimmel is charged with sexual harassment and attempted sexual harassment of a minor under 15.
Tuesday’s indictment, filed in the Central District Court in Petah Tikva, is the latest to be filed after police arrested 27 suspected pedophiles earlier this month, in what was the largest Israeli operation against sex offenders to date.
The police said they carried out the sting as part of an ongoing war against pedophilia, including grooming and assaulting minors using internet chat software.
As part of the operation, police agents posed as children and talked to suspects over a chat service offered by the Walla! website, and via instant messenger. Police also operated a line on which agents posing as children would take calls from suspects wishing to set up sexual encounters with minors.
The indictment against Gimmel lists details of internet chat conversations he allegedly had with children, in which he discussed sex and set up sexual encounters with young boys.
According to the first charge on the indictment, in January Gimmel made contact with a 13-year-old boy, A.A., and the two chatted on Skype.
In the chat transcript included in the indictment, Gimmel introduced graphic sexual topics into the conversation, in which he asked the child to perform a sex act with him.
“Is there any chance that you’ll be home alone one morning?” Gimmel asked A.A., according to the indictment.
When A.A. said no, Gimmel asked whether the two could meet in the public bathrooms at a shopping mall or in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park.
“Maybe you could find the time to meet after school… it’s important,” Gimmel later wrote to A. A., again according to the indictment.
Shortly after the chat, Gimmel met with A. A. on the roof of a building in Tel Aviv, and had the child perform a sex act on him.
Another of the charges alleges that in February 2011, Gimmel contacted a 14-yearold boy via a men’s dating website, and attempted to set up a meeting with the child for sex.
Gimmel was arrested after making contact via the Walla! website with a police agent posing as a 12-year-old boy named Idan12.
Allegedly, Gimmel told Idan12 that he was 26 and asked whether the boy had “any experience”; later requesting Idan12 describe any sex acts he had performed on boys.
According to the district attorney, more indictments against others arrested during the police anti-pedophile operation are expected in the upcoming weeks.
On Sunday, the district attorney filed charges against a 49-year-old northern resident, which included counts of attempted rape and attempted sexual harassment against a minor under the age of 15.
The indictment said the defendant spoke several times via internet chat programs and on the telephone with police agents whom he believed were girls of 12 and 13. The defendant tried to set up sexual encounters with the children, the indictment alleged.
The first indictment in the affair, filed in the Central District Court last week, charged a 57-year-old Jerusalem man with attempted sexual harassment, attempted sodomy and rape of a minor. After making contact with a police agent he believed was a 12- year-old boy, the defendant attempted to meet the child for sex in an apartment block, where he was arrested.