Russian prosecutors ask Israel to extradite priest accused of child molestation - sources
MOSCOW/ST. PETERSBURG. April 7 (Interfax) - A request for the extradition of priest Gleb Grozovsky, who is accused of child molestation, has been sent to Israel, sources in the law enforcement agencies told Interfax.
"The request was made by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office on the basis of materials obtained from the Investigations Committee's Investigations Department for St. Petersburg in connection with a case involving the molestation of two minors," the source told Interfax on Monday.
The source said Grozovsky was earlier put on the international wanted persons list, although it is known that he is in Israel, where he stayed after his business trip.
Investigators believe that in June 2013 Grozovsky, 34, sexually assaulted a 9-year-old and 12-year-old girl in a hotel at a children's camp at the Orthodox travelers club Philadelphia, on the Greek island of Cos.
Grozovsky, who was on a business trip at a center helping drug addicts in Israel and who remains in Israel now, has been put on the international wanted list and placed under arrest in absentia.
The Gatchina Eparchy said in November 2013 that the business trip of Grozovsky was cancelled and that the priest has been suspended from ministering while the investigation is being conducted.
Grozovsky does not admit his guilt.
