SARAKTASH /Orenburg region/, December 24. /TASS/. A district court in Russia’s Orenburg Region has sentenced Nikolay Stremsky, a priest and father of numerous children, to 21 years in a high-security penal colony for sexually and physically abusing kids, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.

"Nikolay Stremsky is hereby sentenced to 21 years in a high-security penal colony, two years of restricted freedom, he is also deprived of the right to engage in activities related to children for 20 years and stripped of the state Order of Parental Glory," the judge announced.

Stremsky was charged with rape and other crimes against children. The case files include several counts of indecent assault, rape, even against underage kids, as well as torture, luring a minor to commit antisocial acts, and the illicit traffic of special technical means designed to surreptitiously obtain information. The hearings took place behind closed doors.

According to detectives, Stremsky, who heads the St. Trinity Simeon Orthodox Charity, committed sexual offenses against 11 children and lured them into consuming alcohol in 1999-2019. Stremsky has remained in custody since he was apprehended on September 25, 2019. Following the priest’s arrest, nine kids from his family (an adopted one and eight under guardianship) were taken to educational facilities in the Orenburg Region with the government assuming full responsibility for them. According to the regional Ministry of Education, Strensky was relieved of his duties as the children’s guardian. The priest adopted a total of 33 children and had been the guardian of another 40 kids since 1994. Stremsky was also banned from serving as a priest for the duration of the investigation.