Ukrainian youth hockey coach pleads not guilty to sex abuse charges

Ukrainian youth hockey coach Ivan Pravilov today pleaded not guilty to sexual abuse charges.

A federal grand jury alleges (read indictment) Pravilov molested a teenage boy in his Philadelphia apartment earlier this month.

Pravilov, 49, who resides in Cherry Hill, N.J., is charged with one count of travel for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and one count of transporting a person to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to the indictment.

Shortly after the New Year, Pravilov drove the 14-year-old – a Ukrainian visiting the U.S. to participate in one of his hockey clinics – from a home in Wilmington, Del. to an ice rink near Elkins Park, Pa.

Later that day, Pravilov took the teen to an apartment in the Mt. Airy section of the city. The following night, Jan. 3, he allegedly placed his hand on the boy’s genitalia and placed the boy’s hand on his genitalia.

Pravilov was also in federal court Friday to learn whether he would be eligible to be released on bail.

The U.S. Attorney’s office argues Pravilov is a flight risk and is asking that he be held until trial.

Senior Trial Counsel Mark Wilson with the Federal Community Defender Office who is representing Pravilov, asked for more time before a decision is made.

Wilson told United States Magistrate Judge Henry Perkin that he wants to find a place for Pravilov to stay should he be released on bail.

“I haven’t been able to talk to anyone because I don’t have their (phone) numbers,” said Wilson.

Perkin granted a continuance and will revisit the issue on Feb. 1. Until then, Pravilov will remain locked up in a U.S. federal detention center in Philadelphia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Morgan, who is prosecuting the case, was frustrated with Perkin’s decision, saying that “there are no conditions” that would assure Pravilov would not flee or be a danger to the community.

Pravilov is in the U.S. on a visa and could face a hefty jail sentence if convicted. He runs youth hockey camps and clinics up and down the East Coast.