Los Angeles: A Los Angeles man was sentenced to 150 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl while in Russia and vowing to sever her head if she went to authorities.
US District Judge Otis Wright on Monday called Yusef Abramov, 58, the ultimate predator. According to the charge sheet, Abramov, who has dual US and Russian citizenship, preyed on schoolgirls during repeated visits to Russia. In June 2009, he raped a 12-year-old girl and threatened to decapitate her and play soccer with her head if she told anyone of the abuse. Several months later, he again traveled to Russia and abused minor girls.
The following March, believing that his victims had contacted the police, he and two accomplices cornered the girls and gang-raped them. Wright during the sentencing recalled the sheer terror of one of the victims when called to testify during the case. She walked through that door, saw the defendant, let out a blood-curdling scream, collapsed to the floor and crawled out of the courtroom like a wounded animal, said Wright, the judge.
Such sheer terror could not have been staged. Abramov chuckled and shook his head as the judge spoke.
Prosecutors had asked for a 45-year sentence, but Wright said he decided to impose a 150-year term partly so the victims can feel reassured he has no chance of release. Abramov was arrested in April 2014 following a joint investigation by US and Russian authorities.
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