Israeli diplomat arrested on suspicion of pedophilia

Following undercover investigation, Israeli who works for Consulate in Atlanta arrested and charged with computer offences and exploitation of children

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3298274,00.html

<snip>

"An Israeli diplomat was arrested Friday in the American city of Atlanta on suspicion of computer related offences linked to pornography and the sexual exploitation of children.

Captain Steve Morris, of the Columbia District Police in Georgia, told Ynet that the arrestee was a worker in the Israeli Consulate. He was arrested upon leaving his home and transferred into custody at a distance from Atlanta.

Daniel Craig, the District Attorney of Augusta, in the state of Georgia, announced that the suspected diplomat used the internet and email
in order to persuade a child to carry out illegal acts such as sodomy and severe sexual abuse.

The investigation has been going on for a considerable time by the Sherriff's Department of the Columbia district in Georgia, as we all as other government agencies such as the FBI. With that, the suspect was arrested only on Thursday after an indictment was approved. According to the decree, a search of the suspect's home was also carried out.

The Foreign Ministry said in response that they were aware of the episode and were looking into details. It was also said that the suspect holds a diplomatic license but is not an employee of the Foreign Ministry."

on diplomatic immunity

either that, or the MSM will ignore it or claim it is a terra-ist plot against a close ally.

I went looking for another news source on this story, but found NADA.

Anyone in GA hear a PEEP about this?

Nothing on the tv? Seems funny that this juicy, horrible, compelling story gets NO PLAY.

I'm curious as to who this asshole is.

some reports (see post below).

according to this

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/64190.pdf#search=%22%22Yosef%20Sagiv%22%22
(see page 59)

he is the vice consul at that georgia office.

...the thing that doesn't make sense is retention of his credentials. You don't credential non-employees--perhaps they are afraid of a terribly onerous sentence--it will be interesting to see how all this shakes out.

As Vice Counsel, he's not the best candidate to be a Mossad agent....that's usually the military attaches or someone a bit lower down and sideways in the food chain.


Ah HA, again--finally found a cite that's US-based--and his NAME AND JOB differ--which makes me think he IS MOSSAD:

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=79765

An employee of Israel's consulate in Atlanta was arrested Thursday on charges that he used the Internet to try to lure a minor into having sex with him.

Yosef Sagiv Ofri, 37, was indicted by a grand jury in Columbia County on Wednesday.

He was arrested at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday outside his home in DeKalb County, near Atlanta, according to Augusta Judicial Circuit district attorney Daniel J. Craig.

Authorities also obtained a warrant to search Ofri's home, according to a statement from Craig's office.

The indictment says that Ofri used e-mail and online messages to lure a child from Columbia County _ about two hours east of Atlanta _ for "illegal acts relating to sodomy, aggravated sodomy, child molestation and aggravated child molestation."

Capt. Steve Morris, of the Columbia County Sheriff's office, said Ofri works for the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta. He said officials from the consulate visited with Ofri Thursday at the county's detention center, where he was being held.

Ofri was working as a security officer at the consulate and was carrying an Israeli diplomatic passport, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The consulate did not return several telephone calls by the Associated Press for comment on Thursday. The Atlanta consulate is a branch of the Israeli government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs which represents the nation throughout the southeastern United States.

Ilana Ravid, a spokeswoman for Israel's foreign ministry, said officials there "are aware of the situation and are looking into it."

Craig would not say whether the indictment resulted from an online sting operation or a complaint from an actual victim. Law enforcement officers sometimes pose as children on the Internet in an effort to capture online predators.

"The investigation is quite complete," Craig said. "We're just reluctant to discuss any of our pieces pretrial."

Ofri's first court appearance had not yet been scheduled Thursday afternoon, Craig said....

Yep, this guy was an agent. A shitty one too, clearly.

im a a little lost on the details, did he actually molest a kid or was he just planning a molestation?

But who knows for sure?

If they are saying he is no longer an employee, yet he is still credentialed, they need to get him out of jail and spirited away ASAP. He's covert. I'd bet money on it.

We do the same thing, too--we've had the odd shithead who acts badly and needs to retain or be given credentials to escape charges abroad, though I can't recall a child molester in recent memory.

if that was the case? they might just throw him to the us justice system and hope it blows over quickly.

Sometimes, if the crime is heinous, they let the guy stand trial, get sentenced, and THEN they do the extradition to serve sentence either under the guise of immunity or not, depending on the crime. The guy does a few months in jail in his home country and they let him out on house arrest in some cases. In others, the country gets serious. This Georgian diplomat didn't get away: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E2DB1131F932A35752C0A96E958260&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fRussia%20and%20the%20Former%20Soviet%20Union

Published: January 1, 1998
The family of a teen-ager killed last year in a drunken-driving accident involving a diplomat from the Republic of Georgia today filed two civil lawsuits seeking damages against the diplomat.

Two weeks ago, the diplomat, Gueorgui Makharadze, was sentenced to 7 to 21 years in prison in October after pleading guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of aggravated assault. Mr. Makharadze was driving drunk at more than 70 miles an hour near Dupont Circle when he hit several cars at a light. Joviane Waltrick, 16, a passenger in one car, died.

...

Of course, in his case, his GOVERNMENT (specifically, a pissed-off Eduard Shevardnadze) waived immunity, so he was, in essence, tossed out on his ass.

Then there are assholes like this guy, who totally got away with it: http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,2763,1276203,00.html

Under the 1961 convention, accredited diplomats are exempt from almost all forms of taxation in their host countries, and cannot be prosecuted for any crime unless their own government and the host government agree to waive immunity.

The current Saudi case involves a 41-year-old diplomat, as yet unnamed, who was arrested by police on the morning of July 26 after he was accused of indecently assaulting an 11-year-old girl in west London. Because of his status, neither the police nor the Crown Prosecution Service can take the case further until the British and Saudi governments agree what should be done.

The FO says it sent a letter to the Saudis last week, asking for the diplomat's immunity to be waived, but it has yet to get a reply and is "pressing them for a decision". All the government would be able to do if the Saudis refused a waiver would be to request that the Saudis sent the man home; if that failed, the last resort would be to declare him persona non grata and expel him.

Waivers are not unprecedented. If the country where the crime is committed is particularly large and powerful, and the diplomat's country particularly small and weak, the diplomat's chances of escaping justice are less. Seven years ago a Georgian diplomat, Gueorgui Makharadze, was sentenced to between seven and 21 years in prison in the US for causing the death of a Maryland teenager while driving drunk.

When the disproportion in size and power is in the other direction, waivers are less likely. In 1987, the US refused to waive the diplomatic immunity of the husband of one of its diplomats in London after he was accused of indecent exposure. The charge could have carried a sentence of up to two years; instead, the US embassy chose to send him home "for treatment".

The most notorious example of alleged criminals being allowed to return to their home countries without investigation or prosecution came in 1984, with the murder of the policewoman Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London. The burden of evidence pointed to the embassy as the origin of the gunshots which killed her, from a weapon smuggled in a "diplomatic bag" - under the convention, diplomats' luggage is not subject to search. ....

Of course, the irony here, is that if the above guy had gotten charged in his home country, it would be "off with his head" (then again, the victim being a 'mere' girl, what's the probability?):

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004352140,00.html

israelis can be criminals!!!! and some watch Porno!! must be related to the zionists....they're must be behind it,

btw...is this at all related to the israeli/palestenain conflict?

It does seem like a curious place for the story. I'd go for GD, myself. Good thing I didn't post the asshole's picture--there's no pictures allowed here!!!!!

This I/P apartheid over all things Israeli, even when the subject has absolutely nothing to do with the two state business, reflects poorly on this website as a whole, IMO. It's as though they feel people are too stupid to differentiate the issues, thus 'lumping' is the order of the day.

PB

from the article (same link) from a fellow Israeli:


1. If he is a pedophile


Then relocate him to Gaza where he would feel more at home


Arie , Afula (08.31.06)

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