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Case of Yosef Sagiv Ofri

(AKA: Yosef Sagiv, Yosef Ofri)

Israeli Vice Consul - Security Officer, Atlanta, GA

Tel Aviv, Israel

Allegedly Israeli Vice Consul - Yosef Sagiv Ofri used the internet and email in order to persuade a child to carry out illegal acts such as sodomy and severe sexual abuse.  The Jerusalem Post reports that Ofri is a security officer with the consulate and carries an Israeli diplomatic passport. The Israeli Embassy in Washington confirmed that Ofri had been charged but refused to release more information on the case. According to the United States Department of States listing of Foreign Consular Offices in the United States (pg. 58), Ofri is listed as an Israeli Vice Consul since August 24, 205.

Augusta Judicial Circuit district, attorney Daniel J. Craig, said "Because you're dealing with a citizen of another country here, it was necessary to coordinate our efforts with the State Department and in accordance with the Vienna Convention."

According to court documents, Yosef Sagiv Ofri is being charged with 19 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children. He is scheduled to appear in court on October 16, 2006 at 9:00 am.  The trail will begin on November 13, 2006.

Hon. Ducan D. Wheale, Judge

Ashley Wright, Prosecutor

Defense Attorney, Michael C. Garrett

Case Number: 2006-CR-822

Ofri is currently out on $50,000 bond. Some of the conditions include:

• He cannot attempt to apply for another passport anywhere.

• He may not have a passport issued to him without the knowledge of the U.S. government and the district attorney's office.

• He is restricted from traveling outside the metropolitan Atlanta counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett, with the exception of the Interstate 20 corridor to Augusta to visit his attorneys and attend court proceedings in Columbia County.

• He cannot have access to firearms, carry a firearm or be in the presence of firearms or ammunition.

• His Internet access is prohibited at home, and he cannot use the Web to access chat rooms, electronic messaging or sexually explicit material at the consulate.

• He is prohibited from having inappropriate contact with anyone younger than 18 or anyone whom he believes is a minor by computer or engaging in communication that is obscene or of a criminal nature.

• He must surrender his concealed-weapons permit, which was taken on his arrest.

Networking and Self-Help Groups for the Awareness Center This link will bring you to a list of different mailing lists offered by The Awareness Center. We offers several different email groups,which include our general mailing list, press-releases, Jewish survivors of childhood sexual abuse, Jewish Survivors of Clergy Abuse (by Rabbis and Cantors), Parents of children who were molested, Family members of sex offenders, etc.

Table of Contents:  

1. Columbia County authorities charge man with child porn  (08/31/2006)
2. Israeli diplomat arrested on suspicion of pedophilia (08/31/2006)
3. Israeli diplomat accused of luring minor for sex  (09/01/2006)
4. Diplomat Charged With Molestation  (09/01/2006)
5. Israeli worker charged with luring minor  (09/01/2006)
6. Security guard at Israeli consulate in U.S. held on pedophilia charges  (09/01/2006)
7. Israeli diplomat released on bond  (09/072006)
8. U.S. court released Israeli consulate guard charged with pedophilia (09/072006)
9. Superior Court Calender Call: September 18, 2006  (09/182006)
10. Superior Court Calender Call: Monday, October 16, 2006  (10/162006)

Also see:  

1. The Awareness Center's Brochure  

2. The Case of Aryeh Sher, Israeli Vice Consul (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

3. Rabbis, Cantors and Other Trusted Officials

4. Offenders: Problems Our Parents Wouldn't Speak Of

5. Recidivism of Sex Offenders  (U.S. Department of Justice: Center for Sex Offender Management)

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The Augusta Chronicle - Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/latest/lat_083106_childporn.shtml

Police arrested an Israeli man today in metro Atlanta after a Columbia County grand jury indicted him on charges that he used a computer to entice a child to perform sexual acts.

Yosef Sagiv Ofri, 37, was indicted by the grand jury Wednesday on charges of computer pornography and child exploitation, according to a news release from District Attorney Danny Craig.

Mr. Ofri is accused of using the Internet to "entice a child to commit illegal acts ... utilizing verbal descriptions, narrative accounts and photographic depictions," Mr. Craig said in the news release.

Mr. Ofri was arrested today in DeKalb County, Mr. Craig said, and search warrants were executed at his home.

The investigation was conducted by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and state and federal agencies.

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By Yitzhak Benhorin

YNet News - August 31, 2006

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

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

WASHINGTON– An Israeli diplomat, Yosef Sagiv, 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 Sagiv 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 well 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.

This is not the first time that the Foreign Ministry has had to deal with embarrassing episodes: Three years ago the Israeli Consul in Sao Paolo, Aryeh Sher, was arrested due to suspicions that his computer held pornographic material.

Roee Nahmias contributed to this report

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By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent

Haaretz - September 9, 2006

A security officer at the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia, was charged on Thursday with pedophila and with seducing children to perform "illegal acts, including sodomy."

Police detained the guard, Yosef Sagiv Ofri, after finding pornographic pictures of children and crude sexual letters on his computer.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington confirmed that Ofri had been charged but refused to release more information on the case.

Ofri was accused of using emails and online messages to seduce a child from a suburb of Atlanta for "illegal acts relating to sodomy, aggravated sodomy, child molestation and aggravated child molestation."

Officials from the consulate on Thursday visited Ofri, who carries a diplomatic passport, at the county's detention center. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said that it had been informed of the matter and was looking into the details.

Augusta Judicial Circuit district, attorney Daniel J. Craig, said "Because you're dealing with a citizen of another country here, it was necessary to coordinate our efforts with the State Department and in accordance with the Vienna Convention."

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The Associated Press - September 1, 2006

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=79763

(ATLANTA) 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.

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.

Craig said state and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation but that he expects any trial in the case to remain in Columbia County.

"Because you're dealing with a citizen of another country here, it was necessary to coordinate our efforts with the State Department and in accordance with the Vienna Convention," he said. "But there's no reason to think the case would not progress on an ordinary course."

Adopted by the United Nations in 1961, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations governs how people acting as diplomats in other nations should be treated.

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Associated Press - September 1, 2006

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=84123

An employee of Israel's consulate in Atlanta was arrested on child molestation charges Thursday.

ATLANTA (AP) -- 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.

Yosef Sagiv Ofri was indicted by a grand jury in Columbia County yesterday.

District Attorney Daniel Craig of Augusta says the 37-year-old Ofri was arrested at about 7:30 a.m. outside his home in DeKalb County, near Atlanta.

Craig says 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."

Captain 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 today at the county's detention center, where he is being held.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Ofri is a security officer with the consulate and carries an Israeli diplomatic passport.

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By Doug Gross

Associated Press -Friday, September 1, 2006

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 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.

State and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation but Craig expects any trial in the case to remain in Columbia County, he said.

"Because you're dealing with a citizen of another country here, it was necessary to coordinate our efforts with the State Department and in accordance with the Vienna Convention," he said. "But there's no reason to think the case would not progress on an ordinary course."

Adopted by the United Nations in 1961, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations governs how people acting as diplomats in other nations should be treated.

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By J. Scott Trubey,  Columbia County Bureau

Augusta Chronicle - September 7, 2006

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/090706/met_95645.shtml

An Israeli diplomat was released from the Columbia County Detention Center on $50,000 bond Wednesday within hours of pleading not guilty to charges that he tried to entice what he thought was a child on the Internet with pornography.

A bond of $50,000 was granted Wednesday afternoon to Yosef Sagiv Ofri, 37, an Israeli diplomat stationed at the Atlanta Israeli Consulate, during a bond hearing and arraignment before Superior Court Judge Duncan Wheale. The bond was set with nine conditions, including that he cannot leave the United States with the assistance of the Israeli government and that he must surrender his diplomatic passport.

Mr. Ofri's lawyer, Mike Garrett, asked for the bond to be reduced to $25,000, but Judge Wheale agreed to the $50,000 amount requested by Augusta Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Ashley Wright.

"We feel it would be a sufficient amount of money to return (Mr. Ofri) to court to respond to the charges against him," Ms. Wright said. Mr. Garrett said the Ofris were of limited means and presented the judge with letters written on his client's behalf, including one, he said, written by an FBI agent who knew Mr. Ofri through anti-terrorism classes he taught in the Atlanta area.

Judge Wheale said the letters weren't necessary because the district attorney's office was not challenging the bond and that he held a trumping document in the bond decision, an indictment.

"I would have set it higher if the state had asked for it," the judge said of the bond.

Mr. Ofri's attorney agreed to the terms of his bond. Present at the hearing were members of Mr. Ofri's family, including his wife, ranking members from the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta and two attorneys representing the state of Israel, one of whom flew in from Tel Aviv.

On the side of the prosecution, Chuck Olson of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia supplied support for the case, which involves the U.S. Departments of State, Justice, the Israeli government and local law enforcement agencies.

Among other conditions placed on Mr. Ofri's bond:

• He cannot attempt to apply for another passport anywhere.

• He may not have a passport issued to him without the knowledge of the U.S. government and the district attorney's office.

• He is restricted from traveling outside the metropolitan Atlanta counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett, with the exception of the Interstate 20 corridor to Augusta to visit his attorneys and attend court proceedings in Columbia County.

• He cannot have access to firearms, carry a firearm or be in the presence of firearms or ammunition.

• His Internet access is prohibited at home, and he cannot use the Web to access chat rooms, electronic messaging or sexually explicit material at the consulate.

• He is prohibited from having inappropriate contact with anyone younger than 18 or anyone whom he believes is a minor by computer or engaging in communication that is obscene or of a criminal nature.

• He must surrender his concealed-weapons permit, which was taken on his arrest.

"I never caused any problems with anybody, and I'm not about to start," Mr. Ofri told the judge when asked if he understood the terms of his bond.

Mr. Ofri was indicted by a Columbia County grand jury Aug. 30 and was arrested the next day by Columbia County authorities at his Atlanta home. He faces 22 counts of the charge of computer pornography and child exploitation.

Reach J. Scott Trubey at 706-868-1222, ext. 109, or jeffery.trubey@augustachronicle.com.

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By Shmuel Rosner

Haaretz - September 7, 2006

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/760020.html

An Atlanta court on Thursday released on bail a security officer at the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia, charged last week with pedophila, Israel Radio reported.

Police detained the guard, Yosef Sagiv Ofri, after finding pornographic pictures of children and crude sexual letters on his computer.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington confirmed that Ofri had been charged but refused to release more information on the case.

Ofri was accused of using emails and online messages to seduce a child from a suburb of Atlanta for "illegal acts relating to sodomy, aggravated sodomy, child molestation and aggravated child molestation."

Officials from the consulate on Thursday visited Ofri, who carries a diplomatic passport, at the county's detention center. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said that it had been informed of the matter and was looking into the details.

Augusta Judicial Circuit district, attorney Daniel J. Craig, said "Because you're dealing with a citizen of another country here, it was necessary to coordinate our efforts with the State Department and in accordance with the Vienna Convention."

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Calender Call For September 18, 2006

9:00 AM - 2nd Floor - Columbia Cty Ctrm IV

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:dq0z1QiE8zwJ:www.augustaga.gov/departments/superiorcourt/docs/20060918_AM_DDW_CC_RL.pdf+%22Yosef+Sagiv%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=13

Judge: Hon. Duncan D. Wheale

Prosecutor: Ashley Wright

Defense Attorney: None

Defendant:  Ofri, Yosef Sagiv   2006- CR-822

Jail Days:   0

Offense(s): 22 Counts Sexual, Exploitation of Children

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Ready List - Trial Week 11/13/2006

Calendar Call: Monday, October 16, 2006

9:00 AM - 2nd Floor - Columbia County County Ctm. II

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:KxF5sWtSzh8J:www.augustaga.gov/departments/superiorcourt/docs/20061016_AM_DDW_CC_RL.pdf+%22Yosef+Sagiv%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=12

Judge: Hon. Duncan D. Wheale

Prosecutor: Ashley Wright

Defense Attorney: Michael C. Garrett

Defendant: Ofri, Yosef Sagiv   2006-CR-822   Term: March 2006

Jail Days:    0

Offense(s):  22 Counts Sexual, Exploitation of Children

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Last Updated:  09/22/2006

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