Former Russian Orthodox priest is sentenced to 14 years for violent sexual crimes against minors

A court in the St. Petersburg area has sentenced former Russian Orthodox priest Gleb Grozovsky to 14 years in prison for pedophilia. The case was not open to the public. Grozovsky was convicted of “especially cynical” violent sexual acts.

The former priest was also ordered to pay the families of three victims 400,000 rubles ($7,000) each. Grozovsky has been in state custody since September 2014. The sexual abuse incidents took place at an Orthodox youth camp in 2009 and 2013. Grozovsky denies that he committed any crimes and says he plans to appeal the ruling.

After police opened a criminal investigation in November 2013, Grozovsky fled to Israel, where he was eventually detained by the local authorities and extradited back to Russia. The former priest says he is the victim of political and religious persecution.