It started with a conversation. A man contacted the police hotline and said he had been corresponding with a stranger online, when in the middle of the conversation, the stranger hinted that he was harming a minor relative of his.
What is diabetes and prediabetes, how do we avoid them, and what are the warning signs? • Promoter
The report reached Unit 105 of Lahav 433, the police unit specializing in cybercrimes against minors, and from there a shocking Pandora's box was opened, revealing a network of pedophile parents who distributed the recordings they made in a Telegram group.
According to a report by Elinor Shirkani-Kofman in Israel Hayom, correspondence between parents who routinely share photos and videos with each other caused researchers to freeze: they described harm to their own children.
One of those arrested in the case is a teacher at a prestigious Lithuanian Talmud Torah school, a resident of an ultra-Orthodox city in central Israel.
Sergeant Miri Hori Kogan, an investigator in the unit, told Israel Hayom: "This is one of the most serious incidents we have encountered in recent times. Parents of children are talking about harming their own children and encouraging each other.".
According to the indictment filed against one of the suspects, for many months he led a double life: during the day he is a worker, father, and husband. At night, he writes on anonymous chat sites and Telegram - under pseudonyms, and shares details about his children with various parties across the Internet.
The main suspect in the case, against whom an indictment has already been filed in the District Court, is a father of children, an active reserve soldier, and an employee of a well-known company. A man who is perceived by society as completely normative, but turns out to be completely different.
The other suspects in the case are also seemingly normal people. One of them works in a profession that includes access to children, so the police requested a ban on his employment and proximity to children. They also asked to reveal his name for fear of additional victims, but their request was denied.
The correspondence revealed a horrific world. "These are people who truly have no God," said Capt. Nofar Dolev, head of investigations in Unit 105. "The urge overwhelms them and they lose their humanity.".
The second case being investigated by Unit 105 concerns a father of children, a senior executive at a high-tech company, who was present at meetings with his children's friends and family members at home and in the office and committed shocking acts. According to the indictment, for more than two years he exploited the closeness and trust placed in him to harm two minors - a friend of his children and a relative, both under the age of 10 - while documenting everything, uploading it to the Internet and deceiving the children about the nature of his actions.
Last week, an indictment was filed against him that includes no less than 26 charges.
The Cyber Department at the State Attorney's Office stated: "In recent years, we have identified a worrying increase in the scope of sexual abuse of minors in the online space, even by people who are perceived externally as normative people, and sometimes even from within the family unit. These cases illustrate that online sexual offenses cross sectors and are not limited to a specific population group, and that parental supervision and deeper involvement in what is happening in the digital space are important.".
""Experience shows that in many cases the harm begins gradually, blurring boundaries and exploiting the minor's sense of security. The Cyber Department aims to combat the phenomenon of sexual harm in the online space, and to promote enforcement by combining technological, investigative and legal means to locate perpetrators, even when they operate behind screens and in the closest environment to the victim. Our message is clear and concise: the online space is not an area that grants immunity to sex offenders, and anyone who harms minors online will encounter determined enforcement and uncompromising enforcement.".
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
