Two More Suspects Arrested in Telegram Child Abuse Probe

Israel Police said Tuesday that two additional suspects were arrested in the expanding Telegram child abuse investigation, after intelligence and information uncovered during questioning of one of the main suspects led investigators to them. The two men, both from central Israel, are suspected of committing indecent acts against a minor while abusing a position of authority.

The arrests are part of the efforts of Unit 105 in Lahav 433 to identify and detain everyone involved in the network. According to police, the case has continued to widen as investigators examined one of the primary suspects, exposing a specific incident of harm to a child that directly linked the new detainees to the probe.

Police said 12 people have been arrested so far. The two latest suspects were brought on Tuesday to the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, where police presented the evidence gathered to date. At the end of the hearing, the court extended their detention until Wednesday, June 17, 2026, so investigators can continue their work.

The case centers on Telegram channels used by a broad sex-crime network to share prohibited material, consume content involving abuse of minors, and in some cases make direct contact with minors for sexual exploitation. Police described it as one of the force’s major and most complex investigations in recent years because Telegram’s encrypted environment makes it difficult to operate inside the platform.