LOS ANGELES
A federal jury found a Los Angeles man guilty of sexually abusing three minor girls during trips to Russia over a two-year period, according to officials.
Yusef Yunosovich Abramov, 58, was convicted on Friday night after a four-day jury trial of six felony counts, including engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places and traveling in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6.
The evidence at trial indicated the following:
- In June 2009, Abramov, a dual Russian and U.S. citizen, flew from Los Angeles to Russia, and shortly after his arrival, he violently raped a 12-year-old girl and threatened to sever her head and play soccer with it if she told anyone about the abuse.
- In November 2009, Abramov again traveled to Russia and engaged in further sexual abuse of minor girls while there.
- In March 2010, believing that local schoolgirls had contacted the police, Abramov and two accomplices cornered three minor girls.
- Abramov threatened all three girls while wielding a knife and each man then raped one of the girls.
- The evidence showed that, after threatening the girls’ lives, Abramov continued to rape at least two of the girls during his subsequent trips to Russia.
- In April 2014, following an investigation by Russian and U.S. authorities, Abramov was arrested in Los Angeles.
He has remained in custody since his arrest.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, in cooperation with The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and the Moscow City Police.