An American citizen has been detained in Moscow on suspicion of sexually assaulting his two sons after a complaint filed by the mother of the child, multiple Russian news outlets have reported.
According to Moscow daily RBK, American David Thomas Barnes, aged 64, was arrested for allegedly raping his two underaged sons, born in 2010 and 2014. According to the complaint, the crimes took place between 2014 and 2018, in the US city of Houston.
Barnes is suspected of breaking the Russian law for violent acts of a sexual nature against a person under 14 years of age, which has a maximum prison term of 20 years behind bars. Even though the alleged assaults happened abroad, Moscow could still convict if the victims have Russian nationality.
Izvestia added that the authorities received a complaint from the accused’s wife. The news was also published by anonymous Telegram channel 112, which claimed that he has no registration in Russia.
In a comment to RBK, US embassy spokesman Jason Rebholz revealed that the diplomatic mission in Moscow had not yet received any information about the reports.
“We have not received notification from the Russian government about such an arrest. If an American citizen is arrested, we expect immediate notification and immediate access to the consulate in accordance with Russia’s treaty obligations,” he said.