A US soldier accused of stealing from his girlfriend during an unauthorized trip to Russia has pleaded guilty to theft, Russian media reported on Wednesday.
Staff Sergeant Gordon Black was arrested earlier this month in the eastern city of Vladivostok and remanded in pre-trial detention.
State news agency TASS reported on Wednesday that he had “admitted guilt and is cooperating with the investigation,” citing local law enforcement.
Separately, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Primorye Region announced to the private Interfax news agency that the suspect, Black, 34, had confessed to the crime.
Black was charged with “theft causing serious harm.” Mr. Tass reported speaking to authorities in English through his interpreter.
According to Russia's criminal code, the crime is punishable by a fine of 200,000 rubles ($2,200), forced labor of up to 240 hours, or imprisonment of up to five years.
Black was stationed in South Korea, and during an unscheduled trip to Russia to visit a woman with whom he was romantically involved, U.S. officials said shortly after his arrest. revealed.
Black's mother, Melody Jones, told NBC News last week that her son was “seduced” to Russia by a woman she named Alexandra Vashchuk. “I think she convinced him to come there,” Jones said in a video interview from her home in Cheyenne, Wyoming. “He went there because he wanted to see her one last time before going back to her home.''
Black's wife, Megan Black, also called on Russian authorities to release Black through a statement from her lawyer. Brett Pritchard is in the midst of divorce negotiations with her, but she said securing Black's freedom would be a comfort to Black's 6-year-old daughter.
Black met a 32-year-old Russian woman while working in South Korea, as revealed in a series of TikTok videos that surfaced after his arrest. The woman, discovered by Radio Free Europe, said in her video that she had lived in South Korea for five years.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said earlier this month that Black, who joined the infantry in 2008 and served in Iraq and Afghanistan, did not have permission to visit Russia.
Singh also said the Army was “investigating” whether Russian intelligence targeted Black.
