You're reading: Ukrainian coach in US court on teen sex charge

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Ukrainian hockey coach charged with fondling a teen player in Philadelphia is due in court Friday.

Federal authorities will seek to detain 48-year-old Ivan (ee-VAHN’) Pravilov (PRAH’-vuh-lahv).

They say he threatened a witness.

An indictment Thursday charges Pravilov with taking a 14-year-old Ukrainian boy from Delaware to the coach’s Philadelphia apartment this month and fondling him.

Public defender Mark Wilson isn’t commenting on the charges until the detention hearing.

Pravilov is in the United States on a work visa despite a 2007 Interpol warrant for his arrest over a fight in the Ukraine.

His young players stay with host families while they train in the U.S.

A recent book by former player Maxim Starchenko describes the coach as physically, mentally and sexually abusive.