High-tech executive suspected of widespread pedophilia

A man suspected of pedophilia over the Internet was arrested by police on Monday and remanded for eight days. The man, said to be the father of three children, and a senior employee of a well-known high-tech company, was accused of sexually harassing hundreds of children between the ages of 10 and 13.

According to police, the suspect got children to undress themselves and perform sexually explicit acts. He is also suspected of getting some of the minors to have "virtual sex" with him.

Police investigators intend to collect testimonies from at least some of the children the suspect was said to have harassed.

Central District Police Commander Major. Gen. Bentzi Sau said on Monday, "This is a serious case which has been under investigation by the central district's fraud division for the past four months. I call on the public not to hesitate to report to the police deviant behavior on the Internet for the sake of our children's safety."

Four months ago, the father of a young girl residing in the Sharon region complained to police about explicit pedophilic material being sent to his daughter over the Internet. Police immediately began to investigate the claim with the help of a special Interpol unit that deals with locating pedophiles.

On Monday, after months of covert investigation, the suspect was arrested at his place of employment. The man was interrogated and his computer, which was confiscated, was found to contain more than 1,000 names of young girls in the Messenger application. Other applications are currently being checked for additional correspondences the man may have had with other girls.

The man, who is in his 40s, is said to have posed as a young girl using different names, to gain the trust of his victims.

Superintendent Efrat Elmaliach told Israel Hayom that the man seems like a normal individual, has no prior criminal record, and committed the crimes methodically, using names like Shirley, Natalie, Alona and others. Elmaliach said the suspect also adjusted his age to suit whichever girl he was conversing with at the time.

Investigators said the man confessed to the crimes and said he committed them to satisfy his sexual urges. "He is suspected of an indecent act and possession of obscene material relating to minors," Elmaliach said. "I would like to warn parents to pay more attention. These crimes were discovered by the father of a child."

On his first night in custody after his arrest, the suspect tried to commit suicide. Prison guards managed to prevent him from doing so and he was sent for psychiatric evaluation, which concluded that he was indeed suicidal.

The man's attorney requested and was granted a gag order concerning his name and photo.

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