Suspected internet molester alleged to have targeted female minors abroad

A youth sports coach arrested last week for sexual offenses against dozens of underage girls through the internet is believed to have targeted young females abroad as well, police said Monday.

Superintendent Uri Sadeh said police had requested that Beno Reinhorn be kept in custody another 10 days as they complete the investigation.

“We are getting more complaints nonstop,” he said. “The suspect was not content with hurting minors in Israel and abused minors abroad as well.”

The 35-year-old Reinhorn, a father of two from Herzliya, is suspected of molesting dozens of underage girls via the internet by persuading them to send him indecent photographs of themselves, including some which allegedly involved acts considered rape.

The youth handball coach was arrested last week. He is suspected of contacting at least 140 girls for sexual purposes over a period of several years.

Investigators believe Reinhorn would monitor the profiles of celebrities, photographers, producers and other figures from the fashion world who were active with children, Hebrew media reported.

He would then open fake profiles on social media purporting to be an agent of the models or producers and make contact with girls via social media and the WhatsApp messaging app.

After establishing a connection with his victims while “blatantly exploiting their innocence and their desire to model and become famous,” he would persuade them to send him “content of a sexual nature to the point of carrying out acts of sodomy and rape,” according to police.

Under Israeli law, persuading a minor to carry out a sex act via the internet can be considered rape or molestation even if there was never any physical meeting.

Police have called the case “one of the most serious and severe incidents of pedophilia, both in terms of the severity of the offenses and the scope of the activities” that they have encountered in web-related crimes.

Reinhorn is not cooperating with the investigation.