Last update - 00:00 24/12/2007
Another indictment filed following TV report on pedophilia sting
By Ofra Edelman, Haaretz Correspondents
The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Monday issued an additional indictment following the Channel 10 investigative report into pedophilia, bringing the number of indicted suspects in the affair to eleven.
Meni Tzelik, 27, of Acre, is charged with attempted rape and attempted sexual harassment after initiating a blatantly sexual conversation with a Channel 10 journalist, who posed as a 13-year-old girl, and offering to meet her for the purpose of sexual contact.
Two weeks ago, a team of Channel 10 journalists headed by Dov Gilhar took part in chat room conversations, presenting themselves as 13-year-old girls. The defendants initiated blatantly sexual conversations with them; some performed indecent acts in their presence, and others sent them pornographic material.
The men were invited to a rented house in Tel Aviv that was wired with hidden cameras, where they were confronted by Gilhar. They were detained by police, whose presence at the scene had been previously arranged with Channel 10.
To date, ten indictments have been issued following the affair, mostly over attempted sexual harassment and attempting to perform an indecent act. Only three defendants, including Tzelik, have also been charged with attempted rape, based on their conversations with the journalists and evidence which was seized upon their arrest. In Tzelik's case, it was his suggestion to bring condoms to the meeting as well as explicitly offering sexual intercourse.
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