Former Soviet figure skater Genrikh Sretensky, accused of sexual harassment of a minor, remains free on bail of 50 thousand dollars. This decision, Sretensky’s lawyer Terence Kindlon told ITAR-TASS , was made on Friday, September 14, by the District Court of Essex, New York.

Sretensky was detained on September 4 in the state of Maryland and placed in custody without the right to bail. It was planned that Maryland authorities would hand over the former skater to New York state law enforcement agencies investigating the case against Sretensky. However, on September 10, a court in Maryland recognized that such extradition violated state laws and released Sretensky from custody on the condition that he surrender to New York authorities within three days.

On September 14, Sretensky complied with the order and appeared in court in Essex County, where the charges were read to him. The former Soviet figure skater pleaded not guilty. At the same meeting, the court decided that Sretensky could remain free subject to bail in the amount of 50 thousand dollars. The corresponding amount, the lawyer of the former skater said, has already been paid. The next court hearing in the Sretensky case is scheduled for December 6.

Sretensky, who works as a figure skating coach in the United States, is accused of sexually harassing a minor athlete, whom he allegedly molested in July 2011 at a competition in Lake Placid (New York).

The parents of the girl, whose name has not been disclosed, estimated the moral damage caused by their daughter's coach at five million dollars. Co-defendants in the claim for moral damages include the management of the figure skating school and the Gardens Ice House sports complex in Laurel, Maryland, where Sretensky worked.

Genrikh Sretensky played for the USSR together with Natalya Annenko. The skaters competed in the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, where they took fourth place. That same year they received a silver medal at the European Championships.

Soviet figure skater accused of harassment released on bail