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Alaska suspects plead guilty in Russian sex trade case

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department has obtained guilty pleas from three men on charges of illicitly bringing Russian girls and women to work as nude dancers in Anchorage, Alaska.

The three are accused of fraudulently obtaining visas for two minors, age 16, and four older Russian women who were brought to the United States in December 2000.

Federal officials say the guilty pleas were entered Wednesday at the U.S. District Court in Anchorage.

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The Immigration and Naturalization Service took custody of the women in January and gave them temporary legal immigration status while the case proceeds. The women are still in the United States.

The men -- Victor Nikolayevich Virchenko, Pavel Vasilievich Agafonov and Tony Kennard -- all pleaded guilty in federal district court to six counts of immigration fraud.

Kennard also pleaded guilty to two counts of transporting minors for illegal sexual activity. Agafonov and Virchenko pleaded guilty to one count of transporting minors for illegal sexual activity.

Kennard is a U.S. citizen, Agafonov is a naturalized U.S. citizen, and Virchenko is a Russian national.

The maximum statutory punishment is 15 years in custody and a fine of $250,000 for each felony count of transporting minors for illegal sexual activity, and 10 years in custody and a fine of $250,000 for each felony count of immigration fraud.

Sentencing for all three men is scheduled for August 24.


Greta@LAW




RELATED STORIES:
RELATED SITES:
• U.S. Department of Justice
• U.S. District Court, Alaska
• Immigration and Naturalization Service

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