Ex-US Air Force pilot denies indecent images of children charges
It comes one day after he was acquitted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl.
A former US Air Force pilot has pleaded not guilty to child sex offences.
Robert Prussak denied one count of possessing indecent images of a child and one count of making an indecent image of a child.
It comes one day after the 57-year-old was acquitted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl following a trial.
He was charged with the new allegations on Wednesday following a Metropolitan Police investigation into indecent images of a child found on an electronic device, the force said.
Prussak denied the charges at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday afternoon after confirming his name and date of birth, and giving his address as California.
The charges allege that he possessed a category A moving image of a child on April 22 and “made” an indecent photograph of a child between October 17 and December 10 last year.
He was remanded in custody before a hearing at Isleworth Crown Court on November 27.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), “making” an indecent image has been broadly interpreted by the courts.
It can range from opening an attachment to an email containing an image, to accessing pornographic websites in which indecent photographs of children appear by way of an automatic “pop-up” mechanism.
Prussak had been on trial at Isleworth Crown Court accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl after she became separated from her family during a trip from France in April.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was standing outside Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, London, the jury heard.
Prussak then walked with her to his flat and was accused of giving her bitter-tasting water allegedly containing the antihistamine Benadryl, which left her tired, the court was told.
It was alleged that the pilot then took the girl to Hyde Park and sexually assaulted her.
Prussak denied all the charges against him and a jury found him not guilty on Tuesday.
He broke down in the dock as he was acquitted.
Prussak was found not guilty of three counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
He was also cleared of one count of kidnapping, one count of committing an offence of kidnapping with an intent to commit a sexual offence, and one count of administering a substance with intent.
