By AJ Vicens
(Reuters) -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.
Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a top cybersecurity 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 from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
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.
Reuters was unable to reach Wolfson or a representative of his office. But during his interview with the newspaper he said 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, and that’s what happened in this case.”
Wolfson’s comments come amid 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.
Alexandrovich, 38, posted a $10,000 surety bond the day after his arrest and prior to seeing a judge, according to a court docket. He returned to Israel two days later, according to Israeli media, who have identified him as the head of a division in Israel’s National Cyber Directorate.
Alexandrovich’s attorney, David Z. Chesnoff, told Reuters on Tuesday by telephone, “There’s absolutely no truth to any suggestion he received special treatment. Neither federal or state prosecutors have done anything untoward in this matter.”
Chesnoff did not address whether Alexandrovich would appear at an August 27 hearing scheduled for the case.
In a statement provided after the phone call, 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.
Under Nevada law, Alexandrovich was able to post bond and be released prior to seeing any judge, and no restrictions were placed on his release, according to a report from 8 News Now in Las Vegas.
At least four of the eight arrestees posted bail right away and were released without conditions, Wolfson said, according to the Review-Journal.
Alexandrovich was in Vegas for the Black Hat cybersecurity conference, according to an arrest report quoted by local media.
(Reporting by AJ Vicens in Detroit; additional reporting by Raphael Satter in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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