Court extends detention of soldier suspected of committing sexual offenses against minors

An Israeli court extended the detention of a 20-year-old active-duty soldier from Bat Yam until Thursday, September 10, on suspicion of committing sexual offenses against minors. The soldier allegedly posed online as a 16-year-old boy to contact girls aged 14 and 15, persuading them to send revealing photographs before allegedly extorting and threatening them. He admitted knowing they were minors, stating, "If I had told them I was 20, they would not have spoken to me. I saw that they were minors." The suspect faces charges of sexual offenses against minors, sexual extortion, sexual harassment, and making threats, and is expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Separately, Erez Aviad Cohen, a 37-year-old Holon resident suspected of similar offenses, was released from custody despite police initially stating that evidence against him had strengthened. Cohen was suspected of posing as a 12-year-old girl and joining WhatsApp groups with girls under 10. His attorneys stated, "As we argued several days ago, once the picture became clearer, the suspicions would be disproved, and our client would be released. That is exactly what happened today." Both investigations are ongoing.