Tom Artiom Alexandrovich receives "no special treatment" in Nevada after arrest for sex crimes
The senior executive in Israel’s Cyber Directorate was arrested in Las Vegas as part of a multi-week operation targeting “child sex predators”
Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, the Israeli cybersecurity official recently arrested by Las Vegas-area police during an investigation into soliciting sex from a minor, has received no special treatment, the prosecutor in charge of the case told local media on Tuesday.
Alexandrovich, a top official with the Israeli government, was one of eight people arrested as part of a multi-week operation by Nevada and federal authorities targeting “child sex predators,” according to an August 15 statement.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, whose office has jurisdiction over Las Vegas and Henderson, called the situation “standard” in comments to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday.
According to a previous interview, he clarified that the "standard bail for this charge was $10,000, so anybody, upon being booked on that case, can post that bail and get released with no conditions." As CTech reported earlier this week, that is what happened in this case. He was one of at least four of the eight arrestees who did the same.
Since the news broke, there has been a flurry of speculation that either the U.S. or Israeli governments intervened to facilitate Alexandrovich’s departure from the U.S. after being arrested on August 6.
Alexandrovich has not yet been formally charged with a crime, but faces a potential felony charge of luring a child with a computer for sex, according to the August 15 police statement. Under Nevada law, this constitutes a Class B felony, punishable by one to ten years in prison.
According to a court docket, Alexandrovich posted a $10,000 surety bond the day after his arrest and prior to seeing a judge in line with Nevada law. He returned to Israel two days later.
Alexandrovich's attorney, David Z. Chesnoff, said: “There’s absolutely no truth to any suggestion he received special treatment. Neither federal or state prosecutors have done anything untoward in this matter.” He did not address whether Alexandrovich would appear at an August 27 hearing scheduled for the case.
In a statement afterwards, Chesnoff said he and his partner, Richard A. Schonfeld, would defend their client “within the justice system, not in the media,” and people “should not rush to judgment,” and that Alexandrovich’s “release was consistent with normal procedures and bail was posted.”
The U.S. State Department said on Monday it played no role in Alexandrovich’s release and departure from the U.S. The FBI, which participated in the law enforcement operation, declined to comment on Tuesday.
Alexandrovich was in Vegas for the Black Hat cybersecurity conference, according to an arrest report quoted by local media.
Reuters contributed to this report
