Authorities in the Russian Far Eastern city of Magadan say they have received no reports of abuse of a seven-year-old boy by his adoptive U.S. mother.
Jessica Bigley from Anchorage, Alaska, revealed to a talk show last month her methods of raising her adopted son, Daniil Bukharov (aka Christoph Bigley), including pouring cold water over him and forcing him to rinse his mouth with hot pepper sauce.
"The Bukharov brothers [twins Daniil and Oleg] were adopted in 2008... Afterwards, we received three reports saying that the children were adapting perfectly to the new family," Magadan ombudswoman Natalia Zelenskaya told RIA Novosti.
An investigation into the alleged child abuse case is underway, following a statement from Russian children rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov on Saturday that Bigley should face charges of cruel and inhumane treatment.
Astakhov said he was tipped off by a viewer of the popular TV talk show Dr. Phil in December.
Last year, a U.S. woman sent an eight-year-old adopted boy back to Russia unaccompanied. He was carrying a note from his adoptive mother, Torry Hansen, saying she did not want him.
Russia threatened to suspend adoptions of Russian children by U.S. citizens until a bilateral adoption agreement was signed.
MAGADAN, January 24 (RIA Novosti)
