An Israeli man was arrested on Monday at PortMiami in Florida on board a Royal Caribbean ship on suspicion of possessing child sex abuse material, according to a report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
Police said they arrested 29-year-old Basilios Grayeb, from the northern Israel city of Haifa, after receiving a “suspicious activity report” regarding “the purchasing of child sexual abuse material.”
Police and federal agents, including US Customs and Border Protection, went to the Royal Caribbean ship Freedom of the Seas and took Grayeb into custody, instead of waiting for him to pass through border checks at the passenger terminal.
Upon performing a search of his cellphone, officials said they found a video of a man raping a girl who appeared to be younger than 5 years old.
The police report said that Grayeb confessed after an on-site interrogation. He was placed under arrest and brought to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Facility, where he has been held on a $2,500 bond since Tuesday morning.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
According to the arrest report, ICE has issued an immigration hold against Grayeb, in case it decides to federally prosecute him or initiate deportation from the United States.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
