An American soldier who was accused of stealing his girlfriend during an unauthorized trip to Russia has pleaded guilty to robbery, Russian media reported Wednesday.
Staff Sgt. Gordon Black was arrested in the eastern city of Vladivostok earlier this month and placed in pre-trial detention.
He has now “admitted guilt and is cooperating with the investigation,” state news agency Tass reported Wednesday, citing local law enforcement agencies.
Separately, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Primorsky Territory told the private company Interfax news agency that Black, 34, confessed to his crime.
Black was charged with “robbery causing significant harm.” Tass reported that he was speaking to authorities in English through an interpreter.
Russia’s criminal code says the crime is punishable by a fine of 200,000 rubles ($2,200), mandatory work of up to 240 hours or a prison sentence of up to 5 years.
Black was stationed in South Korea and was scheduled to travel to a U.S. Army base in Texas when he made an unscheduled visit to Russia to visit a woman with whom he was romantically involved, U.S. officials said shortly after his arrest.
Black’s mother, Melody Jones, told NBC News last week that her son was “lured” to Russia by the woman, whom she called Aleksandra Vashchuk. “I think she convinced him to go there,” Jones said in a video interview from her home in Cheyenne, Wyoming. “He wanted to see her one last time before he went home, so he went there.”
Black’s wife, Megan Black, also asked Russian authorities to release him in a statement from her lawyer. Even though she is divorcing him, Brett Pritchard said securing Black’s freedom would provide comfort to Black’s six-year-old daughter.
Black met the 32-year-old Russian woman while she was working in South Korea, as revealed in a series of TikTok videos that emerged after her arrest. Found by Free Europe Radiothe woman said in the videos that she lived in South Korea for five years.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said earlier this month that Black, who enlisted as an infantryman in 2008 and served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was not authorized to visit Russia.
Singh also said the Army was “investigating” whether Russian intelligence had targeted Black.
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