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A Grammy-winning Russian pianist arrested for allegedly raping a Thai boy in Pattaya on Wednesday denied the charge, saying he had never een involved in any illegal or illicit dealings with children.
In an exclusive interview with Pattaya Daily News, Mikhail Pletnev, founder of the Russian National Orchestra, said that it is all a misunderstanding but he would cooperate with police investigating the case.
Pletnev was arrested and charged after police questioned him on Monday at a restaurant he co-owned in Pattaya on Monday. He was released on Bt300,000-bail.
He promised not to leave the country although he is due to go on a European tour later this week.
He is a famous pianist, conductor and composer. He won a Grammy in 2005 for an arrangement of Prokofiev's Cinderella. He has also performed as a guest conductor of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.
Having played for such dignitaries as the Russian and American Presidents, various royal families, celebrities, he has intermittently been residing in Thailand for the last 15 years.
According to Pattaya Daily News, police apprehended Pletnev due to his relationship with a Thai man, Traiphop Bunphasong who was arrested on Sunday and later implicated as the leader of a child prostitution racket in Pattaya.
Pletnev told PDN that he had known Traiphop for many years and that he was a talented artist, but that he had no knowledge of any illegal activities that Traiphop is alleged to have been involved with.
Pletnev owned two houses in Pattaya, both of which he was paying Traiphob to look after whilst he was away. He also owns a restaurant and several businesses, including a badminton club in Thailand.
He revealed that he had never been involved in any illegal or illicit dealings with children.
Police had only found one photograph of himself and a Thai friend which was taken in Switzerland several years ago, at the time the Thai man was approximately 25-years-old, he said.
Pletnev did not deny that there may be indecent material on his computers as he was so frequently not at home and gave access to the houses to Traiphob.
He revealed that he was open to having the police come and check the computer systems, confident that any offending material could be traced to a time at which he was not in the country.