The former English teacher from Russia is deemed mentally competent to stand trial in connection with sexually abusing schoolboys that she tutored in her apartment. This case drew national media attention in Russia.
Afina Simeonidis (also known as Athena in English), a 23-year-old woman, proved to be free from any mental health disorders during the psychological and psychiatric examination, said Viktor Kozlov, first deputy head of the St. Petersburg branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, in his interview with the state news agency RIA Novosti on July 27th.
Under Article 132 of the Russian Criminal Code, she could be sentenced to 15-20 years in prison for violent sexual offenses against a person under the age of 14.
The investigation found that having reached the age of 22, she invited two of her pupils born in 2013 to her apartment twice in April and once in July 2025, taking advantage of their helpless condition and committing sexual acts. “The acts were committed for the purpose of satisfying her sexual desire,” said the joint press service of the St. Petersburg courts.
As reported by RIA Novosti in July, the number of victims has now reached three. Investigators did not disclose information about the third boy.
The complaints about Simeonidis came from the parents of the victims to law enforcement, said REN TV, a Russian broadcaster.
Having been detained on December 16th, she was remanded in custody by Vyborg District Court two days later for the period up to February 15th, 2026. Her plea for house arrest was turned down. On the order of the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, who ordered the re-check of the case, Simeonidis was released from pretrial detention at the end of December 2025 after giving a written promise not to leave the city, RIA Novosti reports.
Simeonidis denied the accusations. As reported by the Mail.ru news portal, one of the boys developed feelings towards her and invented these allegations after being rejected by her. The teacher’s mother described the accusations as revenge for unrequited love and said the boys visited the apartment with the teacher’s 16-year-old brother for English classes.
“I’m going through a really tough time right now,” Simeonidis was quoted as telling reporters at the beginning of the year by AOL.
Before her arrest, she worked at Gymnasium No. 74 in the Vyborg district of St. Petersburg and served as a class teacher there. Having graduated with honors from Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University, one of the top teacher training universities in the country, she got the presidential medal and certificate signed by President Vladimir Putin for her participation in the 2024 World Youth Festival, said URA.RU.
According to British tabloids such as The Sun, Simeonidis exchanged sexually explicit messages with the boys and called them her husbands. Russian investigators and the court have not confirmed these details.
The trial date hasn’t been announced yet.
