A senior Israeli official accused of child sex crimes in the United States has failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing in his case, weeks after he returned to Israel, prompting concerns that he may have fled to avoid facing trial.
Tom Artiom Alexandrovich’s lawyer, David Chesnoff, told the court in Nevada on Wednesday that he told his client not to attend the hearing.
“He was instructed by me that he didn’t have to be here,” Chesnoff said.
However, Judge Barbara Schifalacqua was quick to shut down the suggestion, stressing that suspects released on bond like Alexandrovich have “to make every court appearance”.
“I’m looking at his bond documents that indicate the court appearance that he was ordered to appear at was today,” Schifalacqua told Chesnoff. “And so your oral – I guess – request without anything before the court to waive his appearance here today is hereby denied.”
Alexandrovich’s case has been stirring controversy and making international headlines since his arrest was announced earlier this month.
The Israeli official was arrested on August 6, but the incident was not made public until more than a week later, when the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced an undercover operation “targeting child sex predators”.
Alexandrovich was released and allowed to return to Israel after being charged with luring or attempting to lure a child online to engage in sexual conduct.
His release without travel restrictions has led to speculations that he may have received preferential treatment due to the close ties between the US and Israel.
But the administration of President Donald Trump has denied intervening in the case, and the local district attorney has argued that Alexandrovich’s release was “standard”.
Earlier this month, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu falsely denied that Alexandrovich was arrested and downplayed the incident.
On Wednesday, Chesnoff suggested that he had a deal with prosecutors relating to Alexandrovich’s court appearances going forward.
“My client is not here. We have an agreement with the state, and I informed your staff earlier that he was not going to be here,” the lawyer told the court.
But Schifalacqua said the district attorney’s office has “no authority to waive appearances” at a felony arraignment.
“Nobody got a waiver from my court,” Schifalacqua said.
Eventually, Chesnoff and the court agreed that Alexandrovich would appear remotely before the court next week, on September 3, for his arraignment – a hearing where he would be formally presented with the charges and enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
Schifalacqua warned that she may impose conditions on Alexandrovich’s release, including a possible ban on contact with minors and using social media and dating platforms.
As outrage grew over allowing Alexandrovich to leave the country, last week, acting US Attorney for the District of Nevada Sigal Chattah – a Trump appointee – pointed the finger at local prosecutors.
“A liberal district attorney and state court judge in Nevada FAILED TO REQUIRE AN ALLEGED CHILD MOLESTER TO SURRENDER HIS PASSPORT, which allowed him to flee our country,” Chattah wrote on social media.
But Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said that there was nothing unusual about how Alexandrovich’s case was handled.
“The standard bail for this charge was $10,000, so anybody, upon being booked on that charge, can post that bail and get released with no conditions, and that’s what happened in this case,” Wolfson told Las Vegas Review-Journal earlier this month.
However, Richard Davies, a criminal defence lawyer in Nevada, told Al Jazeera last week that the apparent lack of conditions on Alexandrovich’s release despite the seriousness of the charges was “fishy”.
“The court should be concerned about protecting children in this community and nationwide. So it’s highly unusual – again – to allow this person to leave,” Davies said.
Wolfson and Chesnoff did not return Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.
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