Posed as a Man for Virtual Romances — Woman Detained in Israel

A 25-year-old woman from Petah Tikva has been detained in Israel on suspicion of committing sexual offenses against five women via the internet. She created a fictitious male persona named Orel Hazan, engaging in romantic relationships and persuading her interlocutors to perform sexual acts. The court extended her remand.

Israeli law enforcement is investigating a case against a 25-year-old resident of Petah Tikva, accused of systematic deception and sexual crimes in the digital sphere. According to the investigation, the woman, detained on August 9, had for a long time created a fictitious male persona named Orel Hazan on social networks and messaging apps, entering into romantic relationships with women. The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court, presided over by Judge Erez Melamed, examined the evidence presented and extended the suspect's remand, rejecting arguments by her attorney, Erez Bar Tzvi, that there were insufficient grounds for arrest. Currently, five officially recognized victims are listed in the case, but police do not rule out that there may be many more victims of the online fraud. The complainants said they had maintained remote contact with "Orel" for several months. During phone calls and video sessions, the suspect, hiding her real gender, persuaded the interlocutors to perform sexual acts. During a search of the suspect's apartment, laptops, smartphones, and storage devices were seized; expert examination of these should shed light on the full scale of her virtual activities.