Hockey Coach Charged With Child Molestation in Philadelphia Found Dead In Cell
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Ukrainian hockey coach who was facing child molestation charges has been found dead in his cell at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia.
Guards found 49-year-old Ivan Pravilov, who ran camps for young hockey players in the US, unresponsive in his cell. He was rushed to a local hospital and was pronounced dead 45 minutes later.
A spokesperson for the prison system says preliminary information suggests the probable cause of death was suicide.
Pravilov was jailed after a grand jury alleged the Ukrainian national fondled a 14-year-old boy at an apartment in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia and then, when a second teenager who was there told his host family about the encounter, Pravilov allegedly threatened and smacked him at an Elkins Park ice rink (see previous stories).
Pravilov had been in custody for about three weeks, and had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His work involved bringing young, teenaged hockey players from Eastern Europe to the US. They stay with host families, train, play in tournaments, and perhaps catch the eye of a college or NHL scout.
