After a two-month investigation, Alaska State Troopers reported Tuesday the arrest of a Kenai man for the alleged sexual abuse of a then 5-year-old girl.
Genady Basargin, 26, was arrested on Nov. 11 after investigators determined Basargin documented the sexual abuse, which troopers allege occurred in July 2011, and was in possession of child pornography. Basargin was arraigned in Kenai District Court on Nov. 13 on 85 total felony counts.
Basargin was charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second-degree, 13 counts of unlawful exploitation of a minor, 13 counts of indecent viewing or photography and 55 counts of possession of child pornography. The sexual abuse and exploitation charges are class B felonies that hold a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to $100,000 fine for each count.
According to a trooper affidavit filed in court on Nov. 12, the investigation was initiated on Sept. 4 after an 8-year-old girl interviewed at the Haven House in Homer disclosed Basargin, her cousin, had touched her on several occasions and had taken naked photos of her.
Troopers obtained a search warrant and were authorized to seize electronic devices from his home on Sea Quest Drive in Kenai.
Basargin told troopers he didn’t molest his cousin but there could have been some inappropriate touching when he hugged her, but “he wasn’t sure because he had a seizure once.” He told troopers “he was glad she was talking about this,” according to the affidavit.
Basargin admitted to having child pornography on several storage devices with naked girls as young as 9. A Sony portable gaming system, memory stick and 250-GB computer hard drive were seized and searched by a technical crimes unit in Anchorage, according to the report.
The forensics unit located child pornography videos and images, along with 13 photographs of Basargin’s cousin. In addition, 42 videos of child pornography were found, according to the report.
Family members identified the girl in the photos as Basargin’s cousin on Oct. 29. Basargin was arrested without incident.
Basargin is currently held without bail at Wildwood Pretrial Facility. His next court date is Monday in Kenai.
Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion.com.
