Court extends detention of soldier suspected of committing sexual offenses against minors

A court on Monday extended the detention of a 20-year-old active-duty soldier from Bat Yam suspected of committing sexual offenses against minors until Thursday.

The soldier allegedly posed online as a 16-year-old boy to contact girls aged 14 and 15. Israel Police suspect that he initially contacted them on TikTok before moving the conversations to WhatsApp, where he persuaded them to send him revealing photographs. He allegedly later began extorting and threatening them.

Investigators found that the suspect knew the girls were minors. He also admitted he had concealed his real age so they would keep talking to him.

“If I had told them I was 20, they would not have spoken to me. I saw that they were minors,” he said during questioning.

The nature of the conversations allegedly changed after the girls sent him the photographs. Police suspect that he began extorting them and making serious threats.

In one exchange attributed to him, he allegedly threatened one of the girls, saying, “I will throw a grenade at you in your home. I will murder you and your family.”

The suspect is accused of sexual offenses against minors, sexual extortion, sexual harassment, and making threats. A court issued an arrest warrant on August 25, and Bat Yam police later arrested him. Following a court hearing, his detention was extended until Thursday, September 10.

During the investigation, the suspect’s mother told police that her son has special needs and attention and concentration difficulties. At his attorney’s request, he is expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Bat Yam police investigators are continuing to examine the suspect’s communications with the girls and the scope of the alleged offenses. The investigation remains ongoing.

Holon resident suspected of committing offenses against minors released

A court on Monday released Erez Aviad Cohen, a 37-year-old Holon resident suspected of committing sexual offenses against minors, in a reversal that came one day after police said the evidence against him had strengthened.

Police had also told the court that Cohen was suspected of obstructing the investigation. However, Cohen was released from custody at Abu Kabir after investigators reviewed the evidence and questioned him on Monday morning, Walla reported.

Cohen was released before a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Under the conditions of his release, he is prohibited from contacting anyone involved in the case and must report for questioning upon request.

Police said suspicions had strengthened

Police told the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Sunday that the suspicions against Cohen had strengthened. A police representative said that, in addition to the offenses for which he was arrested, Cohen was suspected of obstructing the investigation after allegedly deleting content from his cellphone before it was handed over to investigators.

The hearing also revealed suspicions that Cohen had posed as a 12-year-old girl since April and joined WhatsApp groups that included girls under the age of 10.

The police representative described the messages under investigation as “conversations involving persuasion, not coercion.”

Cohen’s partner also gave testimony as part of the investigation. Cohen was questioned twice and claimed that the cellphone had not been in his possession.

Police arrested Cohen on September 1 on suspicion of sexually harassing a minor or helpless person through repeated propositions or comments of a sexual nature. He was also suspected of committing an indecent act against a minor after obtaining consent through deception.

At an earlier hearing, police said they had evidence and that the case involved four complainants between the ages of 9 and 12. Investigators seized a laptop from Cohen’s home and later obtained his cellphone. Cohen provided investigators with the password to the computer.

His attorney, Omer Adiri, told the court that Cohen had no criminal record, had lived with his partner for the past year and a half, and had undergone rehabilitation, saying he “went through a process and turned his life around.”

Adiri also claimed that investigators called his client a “pedophile” during questioning. Cohen subsequently exercised his right to remain silent.

Although Cohen’s detention had been extended until September 8, police decided on Monday to release him under restrictive conditions before the scheduled hearing. The investigation remains ongoing, and police are continuing to examine the evidence and suspicions that emerged in recent days.

Cohen’s attorneys, Isabel Fuchs and Omer Adiri, said, “As we argued several days ago, once the picture became clearer, the suspicions would be disproved, and our client would be released. That is exactly what happened today. Our client was released from the police station after it became clear that the suspicions against him had no basis. We welcome the police’s decision, which examined the facts as they are and reached the necessary conclusion.”