DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Sixty-five-year-old chess tutor Valeriy Gorokhov appeared in bond court, Thursday, accused of molesting a 7-year-old girl at his home in Deerfield Beach.
Gorokhov is charged with lewd and lascivious molestation on a child after police said he tricked a child into touching his private parts.
According to Deerfield Beach Police, Gorokhov was in the middle of a chess lesson at his Deerfield Beach house, between the morning hours of 10:50 and 11:50, on May 19.
The arrest report stated that during the lesson, Gorokhov placed a shell in his shorts pocket and then explained to the girl that it “fell into his penis and she needed to help him retrieve it.”
The girl, with assistance from Gorokhov, placed her hand down his shorts trying to retrieve the shell, the report said.
“He was using a game to confuse this little girl and trick her into doing this sexual act,” said Broward Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gina Carter. “He was using a prop of a seashell.”
The girl told her legal guardian and grandmother about the incident on May 20, and they immediately reported it to authorities.
The victim’s guardian told police that she does not stay at the lessons because Gorokhov said her presence would be distracting. “This man went so far as to tell the caregivers of the child that they couldn’t be in the room during the lesson, that they would distract the child,” Carter said.
Bob Russo, who lives next door to Gorokhov, said he would have never a child that young alone with another adult. “There’s nothing that would make me leave my 7-year-old unattended with somebody,” he said.
Gorokhov told police he does provide shells to the children he teaches and does excise with them when they appear tired or bored from playing chess.
According to the arrest report, he said that “while he picks up children to exercise, a child may have rubbed up against his penis. However, he has never intentionally had a child touch his penis.”
“The worst thing is this girl has to live with this for the rest of her life,” Russo said. “I feel so sad for the child.”
Another man who lives nearby said something about the chess tutoring sounded off. “Children are tutored in math and other subjects. Chess tutoring for a young child? That just seems a little odd,” he said.
BSO deputies said they believe Gorokhov tutors other children. “There’s sharks in the ocean, and the sharks on land are more dangerous than those that swim in the sea,” Russo said.
Gorokhov is being held at the Broward County Jail without bond.
If you have any information on this crime, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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