Genrikh Sretenski pleads guilty to reduced charge in NY court

[Sylvia]

Adirondack Daily Enterprise article: http://adirondackdailyenterprise.com....html?nav=5008

LAKE PLACID - A figure skating coach accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge.

Genrikh Sretenski, 50, of Clarksville, Md., appeared in Essex County Court in Elizabethtown Thursday and entered a guilty plea on the charge of endangering the welfare of a child. He was sentenced to one year in jail, but the sentence was conditionally discharged, meaning he'll avoid prison time as long as he fulfills the conditions of his probation.

Sretenski will also pay a fine and a court-imposed surcharge. A final order of protection was issued for the victim.

[EuroWaltzing]

Sorry to hear that he pleaded guilty as I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. I feel bad for the skater, I do hope she manages to overcome this incident.

[ioana]

^ That was my approach as well. Very sorry to be proven wrong.

[overedge]

He might have agreed to plead guilty in exchange for having the charge reduced and not having to go to prison. It could be that he and his lawyer thought that was a better outcome than taking the chance of pleading not guilty and then being convicted after a trial.

Do the USFS and/or PSA automatically ban a coach who has a charge like this on their record, or is it on a case-by-case basis?

[ioana]

Will be interesting to see what happens with the civil case as well -and does that have any effect on PSA suspensions?

[Willowway]

Do the USFS and/or PSA automatically ban a coach who has a charge like this on their record

I would certainly hope so.

Anyone with this record should not have authorized access to students or be a participant in any sanctioned coaching programs. Parents assume that professional credentials mean a certain amount of vetting and minimum standards; no one with a criminal record that includes "endangering the welfare of a child" should be approved by either PSA or USFSA to teach children. I don't know what the reality is though.

[EuroWaltzing]

A poster on another board mentioned that Sretenski cannot write in English and if that is the case then it puts a whole different spin on the situation and raises another set of questions:

Is the student a Russian-speaking student and if so did the text messages in Russian mean the same as the text messages would in English?
Were the student's previous mental health issues considered?
Were the English-speaking people involved aware that maybe this type of coach-student relationship may be acceptable in Russia?

Wow this is a complicated case...we do not want to make the coach guilty and thus ruin his career.

[Cocomo]

A poster on another board mentioned that Sretenski cannot write in English and if that is the case then it puts a whole different spin on the situation and raises another set of questions:

I'm sure several of Sretenski's students and their parents, past and present would disagree.

[MacMadame]

Wow this is a complicated case...we do not want to make the coach guilty and thus ruin his career.

The coach has been found guilty in a court of law. Not only that but he *pled* guilty. That seems pretty simple to me.

[Carolla5501]

The coach has been found guilty in a court of law. Not only that but he *pled* guilty. That seems pretty simple to me.

I agree. Wonder why others want to make him innocent now.

[skatemommy]

the student is not Russian speaking.

[Frau Muller]

I'll check local (DC area) newscasts today & tomorrow morn. I'm sure they'll mention this story, as they did very often last September when it broke.

[TAHbKA]

Were the English-speaking people involved aware that maybe this type of coach-student relationship may be acceptable in Russia?

coughMorozovcough

[misskarne]

IMO people on charges like this should not be allowed to plea-bargain down.

But anyway. I would hope this disqualifies him from coaching FOREVER.

[valyrian]

This part makes me very, very sad:

"One day she was skating and pursuing her dreams, the next, she was in the criminal justice system testifying against a man she trusted and then she was completely shunned by the skating community which she had been practically raised in," she said.

A child being shunned after reporting a sex crime is horrifying. I hope the girl is able to heal, and I hope Sretenski is barred from coaching anyone ever again.

[michiruwater]

Were the English-speaking people involved aware that maybe this type of coach-student relationship may be acceptable in Russia?

coughMorozovcough

Ignorance of a law has never, to my knowledge, been a successful defense upon breaking the law. And is it acceptable in Russia for a coach to have a relationship with a 16-year-old girl?

I am frankly quite disgusted by the attitude that we should still try to find a way to proclaim the innocence of a predator who took advantage of a 16-year-old girl. And absolutely anyone with this sort of charge should never be allowed to coach again, or at the very least should never be allowed to coach anyone under the age of 18.

[misskarne]

Were the student's previous mental health issues considered?
Were the English-speaking people involved aware that maybe this type of coach-student relationship may be acceptable in Russia?

Wow. Pretty sure this is one of the most disgusting posts I've read in a while...

It is IRRELEVANT what is acceptable/legal in Russia, because IT WAS NOT IN RUSSIA. And it's not like this guy had only been in the states a few months. He's been there for a long time, he knows how it works. And at what point, EVER, is it acceptable for an older man in a position of authority to prey on a young girl? Have a think about what you're saying here.

And why are the girl's "mental health issues" relevant? Sounds to me like you're victim-blaming.

[Ziggy]

The coach has been found guilty in a court of law. Not only that but he *pled* guilty. That seems pretty simple to me.

It's far from simple. Maybe he pleaded guilty because he felt he had no chances in court?

Ignorance of a law has never, to my knowledge, been a successful defense upon breaking the law. And is it acceptable in Russia for a coach to have a relationship with a 16-year-old girl?

Since Morozov's relationship with Ilynikh started when she was 17, yes.

(Age of consent in Russia is 16 and as far as I know, unlike in certain countries it's not 18 if there's an imbalance of power like teacher-student, so it's perfectly legal whatever your moral judgement of that is.)

And why are the girl's "mental health issues" relevant? Sounds to me like you're victim-blaming.

Whatever took place between the two of them doesn't make what happened acceptable, to me anyway.

But there could have been extenuating circumstances involved (probably not the right phrase, I mean there could have been certain facts which could be used as arguments for reducing the severity of the sentence).

[CoyoteChris]

Interesting article. But beyond the total disgust of men in power preying on young girls "under" them, the civil suit is interesting....
In general, I suppose like any business, coaches have to have liability insurance just like the rinks that "hire" them?

[michiruwater]

Since Morozov's relationship with Ilynikh started when she was 17, yes.

(Age of consent in Russia is 16 and as far as I know, unlike in certain countries it's not 18 if there's an imbalance of power like teacher-student, so it's perfectly legal whatever your moral judgement of that is.)

Okay, I couldn't quite recall when the relationship started. I think I was in denial for a while there anyway But if it's legal, it's legal. Here, it's not, and as I said, nowhere is ignorance of the law an acceptable excuse for flouting it.

It's absolutely disgusting that people are ostracizing this girl for this. My God, it's 2013. When are we going to grow up as a society?