A 43-year-old man from the Leningrad region suspected of raping and murdering several children has fled police custody.
St. Petersburg police posted a photo of the fugitive, identified as Yevgeny Litovchenko, on their website and are offering a reward of 1 million rubles for his capture.
According to a police statement, Litovchenko escaped from a police convoy on June 6 after he had promised to show investigators the spot in a local forest where he buried the body of one of his victims— a six-year-old boy.
Newsru.com reported that he assaulted one of the police officers before running off, and another officer who went after him fell during the chase and injured his leg.
Several police officers have already been fired over the incident, according to Fontanka.ru, and the head of the department faces disciplinary charges.
Litovchenko was detained on Apr. 25 on suspicion of raping an eight-year-old girl. Throughout the course of subsequent questioning, he confessed to two other murders and is a suspect in several other cases.
See also:
St. Petersburg Gang Extorts Thousands in Fake Pedophile Sting Operations, Report Says
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