Pattaya - Russian pianist-composer Mikhail Pletnev appeared at a Pattaya court Monday in keeping with bail requirements imposed after he was charged with raping a minor.
Pletnev, one of Russia's most acclaimed musicians and a founder of the Russian National Orchestra, was allowed to leave Thailand on July 7 on condition that he return by Sunday to Pattaya where he faces charges of raping a 14-year-old Thai boy.
There had been much speculation that Pletnev, 53, would not return, after paying a 300,000-baht (9,375-dollar) bail and granted permission to leave the kingdom to conduct a concert in Macedonia.
"I hope everyone now accepts that I am a man of honour and that I am a man of my word," Pletnev said in a statement handed out to reporters at Pattaya District Court.
Pletnev reiterated his claim that he was innocent, and called on authorities and the press to refrain from speculating on his case.
"I ask that there is no further speculation on this case until the police investigation has been competed and the case concluded by court," the statement said.
He also denied media reports that the police had discovered pornographic material in his personal computer when they inspected his house in Pattaya on July 5, the day Pletnev was arrested.
Pletnev has been a part-time resident in Pattaya, a beach resort situated 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, for years.
Police sources said that one reason Pattaya District Court agreed to grant Pletnev permission to leave the country was his status as a property holder in the seaside city, which is notorious for its sleazy nightlife and prostitution scene.
Pletnev must next appear in court on July 30. No date has yet been set for his trial.
The Russian musician has been under investigation for child abuse by police and children's rights groups for months. A 14-year-old boy, a previous employee, was willing to testify that Pletnev abused him, police and child rights workers said.
"The police and my organisation have compiled strong evidence against him," said Supagon Noja, a spokesman for the Child Rights Protection Group in Chonburi province, where Pattaya is located.
"We are convinced that we can convict him," he added. If found guilty of raping a minor, Pletnev faces up to 20 years in jail.