Paganini Prize Winner Charged with Sexual Assault of Teenage Student

Winnipeg police said on Friday that a female student, who was 15 years old at the time, took lessons from a 37-year-old professor between December 17, 2007, and March 11, 2010. According to police, the professor began “grooming” the teenager during the lessons and sexually assaulted her at off-campus locations.

Police stated that after the girl ended her relationship with the professor, he attempted to re-establish contact by repeatedly emailing her. She has since moved away from Winnipeg and, in February of this year, reported the incident to police in another jurisdiction, which then contacted Winnipeg investigators.

The Manitoba Prosecution Service has authorized charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation.

Oleg Pokhanovski, 55, a faculty member at the University of Manitoba, turned himself in at Winnipeg police headquarters on July 29 and was arrested and taken into custody.

“At this time the investigation is concluded. However, if new information was brought forward it would be investigated,” said police spokesperson Const. Pat Saydak.

The University of Manitoba said it is aware of the charges and is cooperating with Winnipeg police. “We take this matter very seriously,” a university spokesperson told the media on Friday. Due to privacy legislation, the university can only release limited information about Pokhanovski’s employment status. The spokesperson confirmed that he is currently on leave, will not be on campus, will not take part in any university activities, and will not have contact with members of the institution.

Oleg Pokhanovski began his violin career at the age of six, performing for the first time with the Kuibyshev Symphony Orchestra in Russia. At ten, he was admitted to Moscow’s prestigious Special Music School for Gifted Children, and later studied at the Moscow State Conservatory under Professor Valery Klimov. After moving to the United States, he attended the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music on full scholarships, studying with Dorothy DeLay, Pinchas Zukerman, and Ani Kavafian. Pokhanovski also earned a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Montreal.

In 1989, Pokhanovski won third prize at the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. He also received awards at the Pablo Sarasate Competition in Spain, the Geneva International Music Competition, and others. He is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Canada Council for the Arts Career Development Grant, and has also been supported multiple times by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Manitoba Arts Council.

His University of Manitoba online staff biography describes him as an “accomplished virtuoso violinist, pianist, arranger, and music educator” and an “in-demand adjudicator at music festivals all across Canada.”