A well-known Israeli media personality was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of sodomizing a 15-year-old boy, after a report was filed with the police earlier in the week.
The minor gave a statement to police in Rishon Lezion, which included the suspect's name. The name has not been released to the public.
Israel Police, State Attorney arrest 19-year-old for indecent acts against minors online
One week earlier, the Tel Aviv Prosecutor’s Office indicted a 19-year-old for committing indecent acts and attempting to commit indecent acts on minors online, the State Attorney’s Office announced on February 18.
The 19-year-old Mazkeret Batya resident, identified as Rotem Aknin, created fake Snapchat and TikTok profiles under the name Liron, claiming to be a 14-year-old, according to the indictment.
An investigation conducted by Unit 105 of the Israel Police, the Israel Police’s Cyber Unit, and the State Attorney’s Office revealed that Aknin used fake social media profiles to approach four minors and asked them to commit indecent acts, take photos, and send them to him.
Teenage girl targeted by repeat sex offender at Bat Yam beach despite IPS 'surveillance.'
The day before, a known sex offender was arrested in Bat Yam on suspicion of having behaved inappropriately toward, and possibly having assaulted, a 14-year-old girl, according to a Tuesday joint statement from the Israel Police and the Israel Prison Service.
The suspect, a Bat Yam resident in his 30s, is already under surveillance by the IPS "Tzur" unit, which was established specifically to protect the public from known sexual offenders through surveillance both in person and online, as well as spot searches and drug testing. Notably, members of the IPS "Tzur" unit are empowered to arrest sex offenders, despite not being police officers.
The man has been recently arrested by the "Tzur" unit three times for violating the terms of his freedom under supervision and contacting minors.
Most recently, he was arrested after the 14-year-old girl filed a report at the Bat Yam police station, saying that the suspect approached her at the beach, issued "indecent proposals," and assaulted her.
Goldie Katz and Maya Zanger-Nadis contributed to this report.