Ramle Magistrate's Court on Monday extended the remand of a Hod Hasharon resident suspected of sexually assaulting girls he met through the Internet.

The man, a 62-year-old grandfather arrested Sunday, maintains that the sex with the girls was consensual.

Several months ago, police in the central district received a complaint from a 16-year-old local resident, who said that she had met the man through the online ICQ messenger program.

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The girl said that the suspect had convinced her to meet up with him and that they had had sexual relations during their meeting.

Police subsequently launched an investigation, during which officers located dozens of girls between the ages of 11 and 18 who had been in contact with the suspect through ICQ.

In many cases, the suspect had allegedly managed to convince the girls to meet up with him, whereupon he had sex with them.