Alex Trimov (in white) led to court by a policeman. Phnom Penh - The trial of a Russian businessman charged with sexually abusing 18 underage girls began Tuesday after a series of delays in getting legal representation for the defendant, national media reported Tuesday. Alexander Trofimov, 41, was arrested in 2007 on charges of abusing the girls while working in the coastal town of Sihanoukville, The Phnom Penh Post reported. Trofimov, was convicted in March this year of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and is currently serving a 13-year sentence in a Phnom Penh prison. If convicted of the remaining charges, Trofimov could face a further seven to 15 years in prison, the newspaper reported. The former chairman of Koh Pous Investment Group, which has a 300-million-dollar property development in Sihanoukville, previously complained he was unable to secure legal representation for the trial. Trofimov has since hired a lawyer, but a local judge on Monday ordered the trial to begin even if the lawyer did not attend.
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