MELBOURNE — An Australian man who was based in Singapore pleaded guilty in a Melbourne court on Tuesday (May 21) to sexually abusing dozens of children over a period of 16 years, filming the acts and distributing the pictures and videos.

Boris Kunsevitsky, 52, groomed children from across four countries, including Singapore, and took photographs and videos of himself performing sex acts with them, The Age newspaper reported.

Police found more than 3,300 images and videos on a laptop and two hard drives that showed him abusing or sexually exploiting 47 boys. Most were teenagers, although some were 12 and others possibly younger.

He also distributed the images of the depraved acts, while downloading another 37,000 images and videos showing other children being abused.

Kunsevitsky pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Victoria to maintaining a sexual relationship with a child, 25 counts of engaging in sexual intercourse with a child outside Australia, 12 of inducing a child to engage in sex with a child, child pornography charges and other offences.

The court was told he had migrated to Australia with his family from Russia when he was 12 years old and he moved to Singapore in the early 2000s.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was in touch with Australian authorities regarding the matter.

"When required, SPF will act and render the necessary assistance within the ambit of our laws and international obligations," the force said in a statement.

ABUSED CHILDREN ACROSS FOUR COUNTRIES

The court heard that Kunsevitsky had travelled through South-east Asia on supposed work trips, but those trips were used instead for “sex tourism”.

Prosecutor Krista Breckweg said the videos and images showed Kunsevitsky had either engaged in sex with boys or instructed them to perform demeaning sex acts.

Australian police had been investigating him since 2016, the Age reported, and searched his phone in 2017 when he visited Australia from Singapore.

They found child exploitation material on the phone and police had his possessions shipped over to Australia.

It was in the laptop and two hard drives that investigators discovered video footage and thousands of pictures showing Kunsevitsky abusing or sexually exploiting 47 boys across four countries.

They include children in Australia, the Philippines, Singapore and one in Indonesia, the Age reported.

The footage, which dated back to 2001, had been distributed and one was later detected by German police, Ms Breckweg is quoted as saying.

One victim, now in his 20s, told the court he was groomed by Kunsevitsky and the abuse left him confused and isolated from those close to him. He reportedly turned to drugs and tried to take his own life while he was in his teens, and later lost his marriage.

EXTREMELY SERIOUS OFFENDING

Kunsevitsky’s defence lawyer said the man had endured an abusive childhood and had been bullied in school in his native Russia. The lawyer added that Kunsevitsky disputed some of the allegations, such as the seriousness of the sexual activity against the Melbourne boy and the ages of the others.

But Ms Breckweg said the man’s claims showed he lacked remorse, calling the offences against the Melbourne boy “depraved and despicable”.

“Clearly, this is extremely serious offending,” she is quoted as saying by the Age.

The 52-year-old, who was diagnosed with a paedophiliac disorder after his arrest, was remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced at a later date. CNA

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