US denies it freed senior Israeli cyber official nabbed in child sex probe due to pressure from Jerusalem

The US State Department denies mounting claims by anti-Israel activists that Washington bowed to a request from Jerusalem to release a senior Israeli cyber official who was arrested in a sting operation targeting a group of men trying to lure minors for sexual purposes.

“The Department of State is aware that Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an Israeli citizen, was arrested in Las Vegas and given a court date for charges related to soliciting sex electronically from a minor,” the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs Bureau tweets.

“He 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 bureau adds.

Alexandrovich’s arrest and release have been picked up by anti-Israel social media accounts, who have used the case to argue that the US is allowing Israel to become a safe haven for pedophiles.