Israeli official appears in court via Zoom following sex crime sting arrest in Nevada

Last month, a high-ranking Israeli government official was arrested and charged with a felony during a sex crime sting operation by Nevada police. Nearly a month after he posted bail, flew back to Israel as scheduled, and failed to appear for his felony arraignment on August 27, Tom Artiom Alexandrovich was scheduled to appear in court via a Zoom link Wednesday.

Alexandrovich, who was confirmed to be a senior official of the Israel Cyber Directorate, was arrested and charged with using computer technology to engage in a sexual act with a minor, a felony.

The court acknowledged that supervising and enforcing these conditions would be difficult given the ‘distance’ between the court and Alexandrovich’s current whereabouts.

Having flown to Israel shortly after posting $10,000 bail on August 7, Alexandrovich was not available to appear before the court in person on August 27, nor did he appear via Zoom. As was clarified on the court docket and during the hearing Wednesday, his bail was posted prior to the probable cause review.

Blaze News can confirm that Alexandrovich appeared at the arraignment hearing set for September 3.

RELATED: Israeli government official arrested in child sex-crime sting, flees to Israel

Photo by RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images

Noting the seriousness of the charge, Henderson Justice of the Peace Barbara F. Schifalacqua ordered Alexandrovich to avoid contact with minors and prohibited the use of social media or applications for dating or meetups.

The court acknowledged potential difficulties in supervising and enforcing these conditions given the “distance” between the court and Alexandrovich’s current whereabouts.

During the hearing, the defense stated that Alexandrovich submitted to and “passed” a polygraph test when asked if he had ever had sexual contact with any person under the age of 19. The defense also noted that Alexandrovich has been compliant with the court in the almost 30 days that have elapsed since the arrest.

An opposition hearing was set for September 24. The reply will be heard on October 1, and the argument, at which Alexandrovich will appear via Zoom once more, was scheduled for October 6. The date of the preliminary hearing will be scheduled during the argument hearing.

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