POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A chess instructor accused of taking advantage of his young student made his first appearance in court, Wednesday.
Valeriy Gorokhov, 65, faces serious allegations after a 7-year-old-girl accused him of forcing her to touch him inappropriately.
According to an arrest report, during a lesson with the young girl on May 20, 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.
Gorokhov’s attorney, however, said the little girl stepped on shorts that had seashells inside of them. However, Gorokhov wasn’t wearing them, and that the whole incident is a misunderstanding.
“She was jumping on the bed and jumped on the couch, and there was a pair of shorts, and in the shorts was a shell– you know, a sea shell,” said Gorokhov’s attorney Barry Vutin. “Then, she said, ‘Can I have one?’ He said, ‘Yeah, you can’t have that one, but I’ll give you another one, and she designed it and left it there, and she was very interested in the shell. So where she said she put his hands in his shorts, that’s probably accurate, but he wasn’t wearing the shorts.”
Vutin also said, in court, the young girl has lied in the past, and they also had a witness attest to that.
“So there’s really no corroborating evidence or other evidence,” said Vutin.
Gorokhov’s son-in-law was also at the bond hearing and said he does not believe these allegations. “As far as his character goes, I mean, he’s been married to the same woman for 40-something years. He’s been around children his whole life,” said his son-in-law.
According to the arrest report, Gorokhov told police 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.”
Prosecutors claimed the little girl was very clear about what happened.
Gorokhov only speaks Russian, and due to this, his family said he is struggling to communicate while in jail. They appeared in court along Gorokhov’s side in order to request that Gorokhov be granted bond.
If released on bond, Gorokhov will live with his daughter and son-in-law, who have two small children, ages 3 and 5.
“I don’t believe for a minute that he’ll harm my children,” said Gorokhov’s son-in-law.
The judge will rule by the end of the week if Gorokhov will be granted bond.
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