Senior Israeli official 'released from US' despite child sex offence charge

DONALD Trump’s US government has denied intervening to get a senior Israeli official released after they were charged with child sex offences.

Tom Alexandrovich, described by Israeli media as a senior department head in Israel's National Cyber Directorate, was one of eight people charged last week following an undercover operation "targeting child sex predators," the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Alexandrovich faces a felony charge of luring or attempting to lure a child or mentally ill person to commit a sex act "with use of computer technology," according to Nevada State court records reviewed by Reuters.

Israeli media has reported that Alexandrovich was released by US authorities and is back in Israel.

Reuters reported that although it was unknown why Alexandrovich had been in the Las Vegas area, at the time the city was hosting Black Hat, one of the cybersecurity industry's most prominent conferences. 

A representative for Black Hat said the conference did not share data on attendees.

The report that an Israeli official accused of a felony sex crime was allowed to return home drew a storm of speculation online, with claims that Trump’s government had intervened to protect a key Israeli official from legal repercussions.

On Monday, the US state department said that Alexandrovich "did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge pending a court date”. 

“Any claims that the US government intervened are false," the department added.

The court records reviewed by Reuters show a $10,000 bond was posted in Alexandrovich's case at the Henderson Detention Center, southeast of Las Vegas, on August 7.

The records indicate he is due back in court on August 27.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Image: Archive) Israeli media quoted the Prime Minister's Office as denying that Alexandrovich was arrested, saying only that a "state employee" was "questioned by American authorities during his stay" and he had "returned to Israel as scheduled”.

Trump has faced fury from his own supporters after refusing to release the “Epstein files”, an alleged list of the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s clients. 

Far-right Tesla CEO and former Trump ally Elon Musk alleged that the US president appeared in the list during a public row between the pair.

Trump had played up the list, and his attorney general Pam Bondi told press she had it “on my desk” earlier in 2025. However, the Department of Justice has since denied it exists.