Suspected Child Abductor's Detention Extended Amid New Details

A Jerusalem man, 19-year-old Igal Buskila, remains in custody after a Petah Tikva court extended his detention by three days on Monday, September 14. Buskila is suspected of kidnapping 10-year-old Yaheli Sofer. During the court hearing, police revealed that Yaheli cried and pleaded to be released from a bomb shelter where Buskila held him. "He put his head on his shoulder and cried, tried to get out of the bomb shelter, but Buskila wouldn't let him. The suspect does not deny what happened," a police representative stated. Buskila, who is homeless, is also suspected of two other attempted abductions. His defense attorneys argue he has a developmental disability and requested he be placed under house arrest, citing his difficult mental state and his mother's willingness to supervise him. However, the judge questioned the mother's ability to monitor her son, given he doesn't live at home and she has ten other children. The judge ultimately denied the house arrest request, extending Buskila's detention and expecting either charges or an indictment by the next hearing.

Yaheli provided investigators with additional details about the abduction after initially being too traumatized to speak. These details reportedly strengthened the case against Buskila. According to Yaheli, the suspect led him to a bomb shelter, and when the boy escaped, Buskila pursued him. A passerby spotted Yaheli and alerted the police. Following media reports, parents of two girls came forward, identifying Buskila as an assailant in separate incidents involving harassment, threats, and possibly a knife. Police noted that these incidents, including one where Buskila allegedly waited outside a building in Hadera for two girls, demonstrate a "stable pattern of behavior" and the suspect's dangerousness.

Yaheli Sofer disappeared from a playground in Petah Tikva on the evening of August 30 and was found the next morning in Bnei Brak with Buskila. Yaheli's mother, Shiran Shabtai-Sofer, stated that Buskila initially frightened children on the playground before convincing Yaheli he was a homeless person needing help collecting money. After receiving 100 shekels, Buskila allegedly put Yaheli on a bus to Bnei Brak. The boy was located using the suspect's phone's geolocation, and police confirmed he was taken without parental consent.