Israeli official arrested in US over child sex crimes - despite Netanyahu's claims he returned to country ‘as scheduled’
An Israeli cybersecurity government official has been arrested in Nevada after a two-week sting operation targeting child sex predators.
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Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, 38, is one of eight people facing felony charges of luring a child with computer for sex act, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said in a statement.
He was booked into the Henderson Detention Center and was released from custody after posting a $10,000 bail, court records reportedly show.
However, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied Alexandrovich's arrest and claimed he 'returned to Israel as scheduled'.
On the Israeli government's website, Alexndrovich is described as the Head of the Technological Defense Division at the Israel National Cyber Directorate.
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The prime minister's office said in a statement to Mediaite: “A state employee who traveled to the US for professional matters was questioned by American authorities during his stay."
“The employee, who does not hold a diplomatic visa, was not arrested and returned to Israel as scheduled.”
According to Mediaite, Alexandrovich’s now-deleted LinkedIn profile identified him as an agency official.
Screenshots suggest he traveled to Las Vegas to attend Black Hat USA, a six-day conference and cybersecurity training event.
He posted a photo of himself at Black Hat USA with the caption: “Two things you can't escape at Black Hat 2025: the relentless buzz of Generative Al [and] and the sound of Hebrew…in every corridor."
Also arrested were avid Wonnacott-Yahnke, 40; Jose Alberto Perez-Torres, 35; Aniket Brajeshkumar Sadani, 23; James Ramon Reddick, 23; Ramon Manuel Parra Valenzuela, 29; Neal Harrison Creecy, 46 and John Charles Duncan, 49.
Creecy was a pastor at Redemption Church but handed in his resignation after the arrest.
Don Seaborg, President of Pastoral Support for Redemption Church, told 8 News: “As soon as he got out of jail within an hour or two, he contacted us on a thread message and confessed.
"He offered his resignation when we met with him later that morning. We had to accept his resignation immediately."
Under Nevada law, the crime of cyber luring carries a prison sentence of one to 10 years.
Anyone who may have been a victim of any of these subjects or has information about their crimes, is urged to contact the LVMPD Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force by phone at 702-828-3111.
To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555, or on the internet at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.