Turkish embassy staffer nabbed photographing girls in Tel Aviv beach locker room
Suspect reportedly caught hiding in stall to take photos of girls aged around 13; Israel said to deny Turkish request he be held on embassy grounds
An employee of the Turkish embassy has been arrested for photographing underage girls in a Tel Aviv beach locker room.
According to Hebrew media and a one-page police report published by Channel 12, the suspect, named as Omar Kusi, 29, snuck into a women’s locker room at central Tel Aviv’s Frishman Beach on Friday afternoon and hid in a stall.
From there, he allegedly used his cellphone to snap photographs of two partially nude girls, estimated to be age 13, who were in the stalls on either side of him. The report said the girls spotted the phone above the walls of the stall.
With the help of other women nearby, the report said, police were alerted and the man was arrested as he exited his hiding place.
Officers on the scene identified “sexual pictures” on the man’s phone, which is still being examined.
The officer who composed the report wrote that the suspect “doesn’t deny that he took photos, he’s just giving an explanation that, in my view, doesn’t hold water.” Police have received three complaints about the incident.
The suspect will be held until Monday.
Turkey reportedly requested that he be held on embassy grounds and guaranteed his presence at future hearings or investigative steps, but Israeli authorities denied the request.