Cromwell Connecticut police say Orest Markiv, a karate instructor at Impact Martial Arts, is accused of allegedly having a sexual relationship with a student when she was 16 years old.
In the arrest warrant, police said that during an interview, the teen said she and Markiv had sex on more than one occasion inside the karate studio, and more than once at her Cromwell home.
She told investigators Markiv would come over to her home when her parents were gone and the 32-year-old told her not to tell her parents about him visiting.
Detectives say they discovered pictures of the two hugging and kissing and the victim wearing a robe with “Markiv’s Girl” on the back.
During the investigation, police said Markiv had a 9.5 Month romantic and sexual relationship with a student who was 16 at the time
She told them that Markiv promised a future with him and they discussed marriage for after she turned 18. They also “picked out baby names for future children,” according to the warrant.
Police said Markiv is listed as the executive manager for the karate studio, which has locations in Cromwell and South Windsor.
The allegations were brought to attention of police by the girl’s mother, who was informed by another karate instructor who knew the girl’s family and Markiv, according to the warrant. The girl is now 17 but the incidents occurred when she was 16, the warrant said.
The mother told police that her daughter at first insisted that she and Markiv didn’t have a sexual relationship but the girl said they had held hands, according to the warrant. The mother showed police photos from her daughter’s phone of Markiv and the girl holding hands and of him with his arm around the girl while the two were in the water, the warrant said. Another photo showed him appearing to kiss the girl, according to the warrant.
During a forensic interview, the girl admitted that she and Markiv had sex several times at the martial arts studio and other places, the warrant said. They also discussed getting married when she was 18 and had picked out baby names for their future children, the girl told police, according to the warrant.
The girl told police that last time she recalled she and Markiv having sex was in February, the warrant said. Although she said she still loved him, the girl realized later that “he had manipulated” her, the warrant said.
The arrest warrant also states Markiv has a pregnant wife in Ukraine.
After discussing the allegations with his attorney, Markiv declined to speak to police, according to the warrant.
Markiv was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault and was released on $150,000 bail after his arraignment Wednesday at state Superior Court in Middletown, officials said. A judge issued a protective order in the case during the arraignment, court staff said. He is due back in court on May 9.
