Yes Keyboardist Accused Of Sexual Assault

07/27/2000 12:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(7/27/00, 12 p.m. ET) - Keyboardist Igor Khoroshev has been charged with one count of assault and battery and one count of sexual assault in the wake of the band's Washington, D.C.-area show Sunday (July 23). Yes and Kansas played the Nissan Pavilion that night, and during a break in the show Khoroshev allegedly sat on the lap of a 26-year-old security guard and tried to force a kiss on her. When she refused his advances, Khoroshev allegedly bit her on the neck and caused a red mark to rise on her skin, leading to the assault and battery charge. Later on, the keyboardist tried again, this time with a 22-year-old security guard. He is accused of grabbing her buttocks and making lewd comments, leading to the sexual assault charge.

Khoroshev was arrested by Prince William County (Virginia) police officers, fingerprinted and photographed, and brought in front of a local magistrate. The keyboardist, who did not have a lawyer at the session, was freed on $1,000 unsecured bond and left the area. An arraignment date has been set for August 9, with a trial to follow on September 22. It's unclear whether Khoroshev will appear himself at the arraignment and trial, or whether he'll have legal representation stand in for him.

The next stop for the Yes/Kansas double-bill is tonight (July 27) at the Alltel Pavilion in Raleigh, North Carolina. A spokesperson for Yes was unavailable for comment.

-- Bruce Simon, New York

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