Russian charged with child abduction

A man from Russia has been charged with child abduction in Cole County for refusing to return two children younger than 17 at the expiration of a visitation period.

Court documents show Gennadiy Ivanov, 51, was supposed to have brought the children back at the end of July.

He is the biological father of the children and the mother, who lives in Jefferson City, has court-ordered custody of the kids. Ivanov took the children to Russia and told the mother, prior to the date he was to return them, he had no intention of returning to the United States.

Authorities have been unable to contact Ivanov