Hungarian national suspected of pedophilia arrested in Jerusalem

Immigration officials on Wednesday arrested a Hungarian national suspected of pedophilia.

	The Hungarian national arrested in Israel on suspicion of pedophilia on July 28, 2010
	Photo by: Israel Population Administration

The man, 48, had been convicted in Hungary and sentenced to four years in prison for the sexual abuse of two 14-year-old girls, one of whom was in his custody.

Jerusalem police found him carrying a note in Hebrew that was allegedly used to lure children.

The suspect, whose identity has not been released, came to Israel as a tourist 11 years ago, married an Israeli citizen and began the process to obtain Israeli citizenship.

During the five-year process, the man and his wife divorced after she discovered he was wanted by authorities. Interpol received information about his alleged criminal acts in 2007.

Despite the divorce, the Hungarian national continued living in Israel and apparently impersonated an Orthodox Jew.

He worked at a large beverage company and had in the past filed a request to convert to Judaism. A special committee at the prime minister's office for conversion denied his request.

The man then appealed to the High Court of Justice regarding his conversion but was also turned down.

After his arrest on Wednesday, immigration officials asked police to check for unsolved sexual abuse cases involving children to see whether the suspect was allegedly involved.