"An intelligent young man with very clear talents in the high-tech field." This is how Tel Aviv District Court judges described Tal Zohar, who was arrested in 2003. The court's examining officer was also impressed by Zohar, now 37, and wrote that he had "high personal cognitive abilities." His friends described him as a young Internet entrepreneur who became embroiled in a project that got out of control following the high-tech crises of the late 1990s.

In December 2000, Zohar set up the Escort Plus Web site, which featured the details of women who could be ordered for paid sex. Zohar received a commission on every order from the site, which was deducted from the fee paid by the clients.

The enterprise, however, did not end there. In 2001 Zohar began traveling to European countries to hire young women. He housed them in apartments in Israel and "marketed" them via the Web site. The indictment details how he purchased two Ukrainian women from a man named Igor, and two Moldavian women from a man named Pasha.