Police officer arrested for suspected sex offenses against two boys aged 14, 12
Suspect claims alleged victims presented themselves as 17; remand hearing judge agrees that based on photos it is hard to know how old they are
The Israel Police revealed Tuesday that an officer was arrested on suspicion of indecent acts against two minors, though a judge noted that it could be hard to tell just how old the pair are.
The officer, who serves in the central region, was arrested on Saturday. He is suspected of committing indecent acts and sodomy on the minors, police said in a statement.
Investigators from the Department of Internal Police Investigations questioned the officer on suspicion that he performed indecent acts on the two minors, aged 14 and 12, at the apartment of an acquaintance in the central city of Modiin.
The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s court extended the officer’s remand until Thursday.
The officer allegedly made contact with the two youths via a dating app and then met up with them to perform sex acts. One of the youths then told a family member what was going on, and that person contacted the police. The officer was arrested the same day.
During questioning, the officer claimed that the two boys told him they were 17. They have both admitted that they were not honest about their ages, according to Hebrew media reports.
Remand hearing judge Gil Gabay, who was shown photos of the two boys, said that it is not unequivocally clear that they are minors as is claimed by police.
“I don’t know if I would conclude from the photos that they are children and not as they presented themselves,” Gabay said.
There is a gag order on identifying the officer in media reports, though internal affairs investigators argued that publishing his name might lead other possible victims to come forward and file complaints. Investigators suspect that there may have been similar incidents in the past.
Attorney Sagi Blumenfeld, representing the officer, said his client denies any wrongdoing and is cooperating with investigators.