A Moscow region official who anti-pedophile activists say attempted to arrange a sexual encounter with a teenage boy has resigned after a video of the sting operation in which he was allegedly apprehended was uploaded onto the Internet, Interfax reported Monday.
Activists from a group called "Occupy Pedophilia," say they lured Andrei Kaminov, deputy head of the regional division of the Federal Court Marshals Service, to a Moscow apartment with promises of sex with a 14-year-old boy.
A heavily redacted video published by Lifenews.ru showed the group's leader, Maxim Martsinkevich, shirtless and with a short-cropped mohawk, interrogating Kaminov about his intentions. Kaminov said he came to tell the boy about the dangers posed by pedophiles.
Kaminov, 38, tendered his resignation on Monday, and the Investigative Committee has launched a preliminary check into the videos, spokesmen for the respective agencies told Interfax.
An alleged correspondence between Kaminov and an underage boy identified as Alexander on the Vkontakte online social network shows Kaminov encouraging the boy to have sex with him, according to images of the messages posted by Lifenews.
Martsinkevich, who goes by the nickname tesak, or "hunting sword," was twice convicted of inciting hatred of minorities, first in 2007 after he and a group of allies interrupted a political debate organized by opposition leader Alexei Navalny with cries of "Sieg heil!" — a Nazi salute.
Kaminov is the highest-ranking person caught in an anti-pedophilia sting in recent memory.
Last month, Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin said a powerful pro-pedophilia lobby within the government explains why adults who sexually abuse children tend to receive light sentences or escape justice altogether.
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