(LifeSiteNews) — The Trump administration reportedly returned to Israeli territory a cyberwarfare official upon request by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government after he was charged with luring a child for a sex act in Las Vegas.
Israel has not yet made any moves to prosecute National Cyber Directorate official Tom Artiom Alexandrovich. Observers believe it is unlikely that any charges will be brought against him in his home country.
Alexandrovich was arrested in Las Vegas on Wednesday along with seven other individuals, all charged with attempting to lure minors online “to commit sexual acts,” according to The Jerusalem Post. The arrests followed an undercover investigation run jointly by the FBI, Homeland Security, and Nevada police.
According to a North Star report, U.S. officials involved in the sting operation confirmed that the Trump administration intervened to have Alexandrovich deported to Israel-occupied Palestine at the request of Israel. The sex predator was thereby released from custody on $10,000 bail.
“Despite the Trump administration itself authorizing the sting — Trump’s own team stepped in and blew up their work. They expedited his release and return to (occupied Palestine). A predator was caught. And then, to protect Netanyahu, he was freed,” the report stated.
“The officers told me they couldn’t believe it,” Shaun King reported.
“This is not speculation. This is not rumor. This is fact. And yet Israel has paraded him back to Tel Aviv as if nothing happened,” the report stressed.
Henderson Detention Center confirmed that Alexandrovich was indeed arrested and charged, and felony charges are pending, according to North Star.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s office denied the arrest took place, releasing a statement afterward claiming “a state employee who traveled to the U.S. for professional matters was questioned by American authorities during his stay … the employee was not arrested and returned to (occupied territories) as scheduled.”
Israeli outlet Ynet likewise alleged that Alexandrovich was not arrested, only “briefly questioned” before he returned to his hotel and then flew home. However, The Times of Israel has reported that, on the contrary, he was “booked at the Henderson Detention Center” upon arrest.
Despite confirmation that Alexandrovich was charged with attempting to entice a minor online to commit a sex act, Israel’s Cyber Directorate released a noncommittal statement indicating he may never be charged in Israel, claiming they have “not received additional details through authorized channels to date.”
“Should such details be received, the directorate will act accordingly. At this stage, by joint decision, the employee has gone on leave to deal with the matter until things become clear,” the directorate added.
The U.S. Department of State denied intervening to release Alexandrovich. The State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs Bureau tweeted, “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 stayed in Las Vegas earlier this month to attend Black Hat, an international annual cybersecurity conference. According to Mediaite, he posted to his LinkedIn profile, which has since been deleted:
“Two things you can’t escape at Black Hat 2025: the relentless buz of generative (artificial intelligence) and the sound of Hebrew … in every corridor,” Alexandrovich wrote. “The key takeaway? The future of cybersecurity is being written in code, and it seems a significant part of it is being authored in #TelAviv and powered by LLMs (large language models). An exciting time to be in the field!”
Alexandrovich founded Israel’s “Cyber Dome,” which reportedly uses AI to detect and neutralize “genuine” cyberthreats “before they reach critical systems.” He has also advised different government groups on cybersecurity, and was awarded the Israel Defense Prize.
A 2020 CBS report highlighted the problem of Jewish pedophiles in the U.S. fleeing to Israel to escape prosecution with the help of Israel’s Law of Return, which allows Jewish people to move to Israel to be granted automatic citizenship. The problem is compounded by Israel’s lack of a sex offender registry.
The Matzof Association estimates that tens of thousands of child sex offenders abuse minors in Israel each year.
