Israeli Government Official Arrested for Soliciting Minor Released From Custody

An Israeli government official who was recently arrested for sex crimes against children has been released from custody.

38-year-old Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an Israeli government cybersecurity official, was arrested by Las Vegas police who were conducting an undercover investigation on people who sexually prey on children.

Alexandrovich reportedly believed he was chatting online with a 15-year-old girl but was actually speaking to a police officer. He reportedly went to meet her and even brought a condom with him.

In police documents obtained by 8 News Now, Alexandrovich reportedly claimed that "he felt the girl ‘pushed’ him to talk about bringing a condom, yet could not remember how many times the girl ‘pushed’ him." He also admitted to being embarrassed.

Alexandrovich, who reportedly faces felony charges of luring a child with a computer for a sex act, alongside other suspects who were arrested during the two-week storm operation, was released from custody on a $10,000 bail after appearing in court on Aug. 7. He’s since returned to Israel.

According to the a post on Israel’s government website from last November, Alexandrovich is “head of the Technological Defense Division at the INCD [Israel National Cyber Directorate].”

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs released a statement about the arrest, denying that the U.S. government was involved in it.

“The Department of State is aware that Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an Israeli citizen, was arrested in Las Vegas and given a court date for charges related to soliciting sex electronically from a minor,” reads a post shared on the department’s X account. “He did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge pending a court date. Any claims that the U.S. government intervened are false.”

Alexandrovich is due back in court on Aug. 27.