'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On Tuesday, February 13, a Russian court sentenced David Barnes to 21 years in a high-security Russian penal colony for sexually abusing his two sons in the United States between 2014 and 2018. Barnes was found guilty of "violent acts of a s*xual nature committed against a person under the age of 14," according to Russian news agency Pravda.
"The American's wife said that he repeatedly raped his sons born in 2010 and 2014. He committed crimes in the United States in the cities of Houston and the Woodlands from 2014 to 2018, when the boys were visiting him."
Since January 2022, David Barnes, an Alabama native, has been held in detention in Moscow. He started his bench trial in the autumn of 2022. However, it took place on nonconsecutive days and ended on Monday. Toward the end of the trial, Barnes gave testimony in his favor.
On the other hand, given the lack of evidence and that Texas law enforcement could not find sufficient grounds to press charges, David Barnes' attorney told CBS News they were taken aback by the decision.
David Barnes’ wife filed the charges against him
The first allegations of s*xual assault against Barnes came from his ex-wife Svetlana Koptyaeva in 2014, during a contentious custody dispute in Texas.
CBS News reported that, as per his attorney Gleb Glinka, Koptyaeva escaped to her home country with his sons. After that, Barnes traveled to Russia to seek visitation rights for his kids.
"We were shocked [by the sentence]," Glinka said.
"We thought that there was considerable doubt about what happened and both the verdict itself and the prison term was entirely unexpected."
A few weeks after his family said he visited Moscow to see his kids and file an application for visitation rights in a Russian family court, he was taken into custody by Russian officials.
In contrast, as per CBS News, a court document revealed that Koptyaeva was the subject of a temporary restraining order against her in 2016, which stipulated that she would be "forthwith restrained from making any statements that Plaintiff [Barnes] has s*xually molested or behaved in an inappropriate manner with a child."
According to the news outlet, the court documents said that from 2014 to 2018, Texas justices made many decisions supporting David Barnes' continued guardianship of his children under joint custody.
Glinka further told CBS News that Koptyaeva returned to Russia in 2019 and took the kids with her, following a string of unsuccessful court battles to secure sole custody in the United States. Glinka also said that he would challenge the court's decision.
As per ABC News, in 2019, Koptyaeva took their children illegally out of the country after a custody dispute. As a result, Interpol issued worldwide yellow warning announcements announcing the boys' disappearance.
However, when asked about it by media outlets like ABC News, Koptyaeva stated on Tuesday, February 13,
"I didn't steal anyone. I was just protecting my kids”.
On the other hand, neither David Barnes, his lawyer, nor Koptyaeva said anything about the case.
Obsessed with Crosswords, Wordle, and other word games? Take our quick survey and let us get to know you better!
