A convicted sex offender has been placed in pre-trial detention for two months in Russia on reported charges of spying for Ukraine.
Crimean software engineer Yevgeny Yanko, 47, was sentenced to 19 years behind bars in April for sexually assaulting 23 minors in the city of Sevastopol between 2005 and 2016.
On Monday, a Moscow court spokeswoman told Interfax that Yanko had been arrested on espionage charges until Nov. 12. He faces up to 20 years in jail under the charges.
“Yanko is suspected of spying for Ukraine,” an unnamed source close to the investigation told the state-run TASS news agency.
Investigators suspect Yanko had collected information to sell online about Russian troop deployments and weapons, Interfax reports.
Spying charges were opened following computer searches in the pedophilia investigation, Interfax said.
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