Las Vegas authorities have arrested a prominent Israeli government official as part of a large-scale sting operation targeting people who seek to sexually exploit children. Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, who holds a leadership position as a division head at the Israel National Cyber Directorate, was apprehended by law enforcement after he traveled to Las Vegas and attempted to meet with a person he believed was a fifteen-year-old girl.
The individual he was corresponding with online and planning to meet was, in fact, an undercover police officer. The official, who brought a condom to the meeting, told authorities he was mortified by his arrest and placed the blame on the decoy, claiming she had pressured him during their digital conversations. According to The Guardian, the investigation was spearheaded by Nevada’s Internet Crime Against Children Task Force and involved officers posing as minors online.
According to information gathered from police documents, Alexandrovich engaged in electronic communication with an officer, leading him to believe he was arranging a meeting with a teenager for illicit sexual contact. Documents seen by 8 News Now stated, “The sexual contact included bringing a condom and taking the decoy to ‘Cirque du Soleil’,”. When confronted by authorities at the agreed-upon location, the government official was detained.
Las Vegas cops arrest Israeli cyber official in sting
Following his arrest, the Israeli cyber official told police, “Alexandrovich stated he felt the girl ‘pushed’ him to talk about bringing a condom, yet could not remember how many times the girl ‘pushed’ him. Alexandrovich stated he was embarrassed for being arrested.”
Following the incident, Alexandrovich was released from jail after a bond of $10,000 was posted on his behalf. He subsequently returned to Israel. This sequence of events is strange, as you’re supposed to stay in the area for your court date, but it seems he got to go without any stop by TSA. This may mean he received special assistance from the US government to facilitate his release, which is not hard to imagine the Trump administration doing.
The department confirmed that he was arrested in Las Vegas and given a court date for the charges against him. The statement made it clear that he had not claimed diplomatic immunity and was freed by a state judge in accordance with standard legal procedures. The State Department firmly dismissed any claims that the US government had intervened on his behalf, labeling them as false.
In Israel, news reports emerged in recent days confirming Alexandrovich’s release and return to the country. Some Israeli media outlets cited the office of Prime Minister Netanyahu, which denied that the official had been arrested at all.
Instead, the prime minister’s office claimed that a “state employee” was merely “questioned by American authorities” during a visit and had since “returned to Israel as scheduled.” A different Israeli news source reported that Alexandrovich was on a leave of absence from the Cyber Directorate, a situation described as a “mutual decision.” So another predator with ties to powerful people goes free, and no one wants to take responsibility for helping that happen.
Published: Aug 20, 2025 05:21 pm