American Jailed in Russia After 'Breaking Into Children's Library' and Passing Out

An American English-language tutor was arrested in Moscow for "petty hooliganism" after he allegedly broke into a library while intoxicated and passed out, according to reports in Russian media.

William Nycum was found on Friday morning, asleep and half-dressed inside a children's library in Moscow. He was placed under administrative arrest for 10 days, per the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

Nycum, a U.S. citizen who was traveling in Russia, went out drinking on Thursday and lost contact with his group, REN TV reported. REN and the Izvestia newspaper obtained CCTV recordings from the library that show a partially dressed man climbing into the building through a window.

"He said he had been kidnapped, but he just took a taxi" after getting in a drunken fight with his friends, a source told REN, according to an AI-assisted translation.

"Then he broke the window near the children's library, climbed inside and fell asleep."

Nycum was reportedly in Russia on a six-month tourist visa, staying with other English teachers.

In addition to the charge of "petty hooliganism," officials could decide to bring vandalism charges, according to state media.

Nycum is the second American to be detained in Russia in recent days. A U.S. soldier, identified by the Army as Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, was arrested last week after a Russian woman accused him of stealing from her. Black was returning to Texas from his station in South Korea, and was said to be in Russia to visit a girlfriend.

Russia is also holding several other American citizens in its jails, including corporate security executive Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, both of whom have been charged with espionage. The White House has forcefully condemned those arrests and U.S. officials have been trying to negotiate their releases.

Other detained Americans include Travis Leake, a musician who was arrested last year on drug-related charges, and Marc Fogel, a teacher who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for entering Russia with half an ounce of marijuana in 2021.

A year later, in the weeks leading up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian security forces arrested the American WNBA star Brittney Griner on similar drug charges. She was released in a prisoner swap with notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout in December of 2022.