Blackmailed girls who sent him revealing photos - and threatened murder: soldier suspected of sexual harassment
A soldier aged about 20 is suspected of impersonating a 16-year-old boy, causing two girls aged 14 and 15 to send him revealing photos - and then blackmailing them to send him more content and even threatening to murder them and their families. His detention was extended by 4 days.
The Magistrate's Court in Tel Aviv extended yesterday, Friday, by four days the detention of a 20-year-old soldier from Bat Yam who is suspected of sexual harassment and extortion by threats against two girls aged 14 and 15, with whom he made contact on TikTok. According to the investigation, the soldier impersonated a 16-year-old boy, caused them to send him revealing photos, and then blackmailed them to send him more content. Among other things, he is suspected of threatening to throw a grenade at their house and murder them and their family members.
The investigation at the Bat Yam police began after two complaints were received against the soldier. The correspondence, it is claimed, began on TikTok and later moved to WhatsApp. Following the complaints, the soldier was arrested and during his interrogation he initially denied the allegations and later confessed. The soldier explained to the investigators that he presented himself to the girls as 16 years old, because if he had told them he was 20, they would not have talked to him. The suspect also admitted that he recognized from the photos that they were minors and acknowledged the content of the threats attributed to him.
At the hearing, the suspect's defense attorney, Adv. Dotan Danieli from the Public Defender's Office, said that this is a young man "with a lot of complexities, to put it mildly." The defense attorney criticized the fact that the suspect was subjected to a regular interrogation despite the circumstances and argued that he does not understand how the suspect can disrupt the investigation after the police conducted a search of his home, devices, and computers.
Judge Tzipora Giloni determined that the investigation material collected reveals a reasonable suspicion against the soldier of committing the offenses attributed to him, at the level required at this stage of the procedure. The judge referred to the suspect's confession during interrogation, as well as to testimonies and other documents present in the file. In her decision, the judge determined that considering the suspicions and the scope and nature of the offenses, there is a ground for detention due to danger and a fear of disrupting legal proceedings. The court granted the police's request partially and ordered the soldier's detention to be extended by four days. In addition, the judge ordered that during his detention, the soldier undergo a psychiatric examination at the detention center.
