ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) — A former professional hockey player has been arrested in Elmira on a felony rape charge and is now in the Chemung County Jail. He must now decide if he wants to fight being taken back to Utah to fight that charge.

18 News confirmed with officials from the Elmira Police Department that 22-year-old Nikita Andrusenko was arrested inside First Arena for a rape charge stemming from an incident in Utah. Andrusenko was in court the morning of January 30, 2023, in the Elmira City Court as a Fugitive from Justice.

While Andrusenko may not currently be a professional hockey player, he has a history with many hockey leagues. From 2019 to 2021 he played for the Utah Outliers, in 2021 he made a switch to the Vernal Oilers. From there, he played for the Delaware Thunder, but it appears he did not finish out the season.

Warrant for Nikitas’s arrest out of Utah.

According to a reporter on scene, several police officers were seen in and around the arena before the arrest took place around 9:00 p.m. on January 29, 2023. Andrusenko was then seen being escorted out of First Arena in handcuffs by EPD officers.

Elmira Mammoth owner and First Arena tenant, Steve Donner, agreed to an interview. In the interview, Donner says that Andrusenko had let him know about an ‘incident’ that occurred in Utah. When we asked Donner why Andrusenko remained in the Elmira area and was seen hanging out at First Arena multiple times even though he was never officially with the Mammoth, Donner replied, “Well, you have to ask him that.” Donner adds that he has not had any contact with Andrusenko since and that he was fully cooperating with EPD.

According to a viewer tip, it appears Andrusenko could have been in the Elmira area as early as last September, according to social media postings.

The next step for Andrusenko is extradition, he can either chose to waive his extradition and go back to Utah to face the charges against him. However, Andrusenko has the right to fight that and ask for a hearing.

Details at this time are limited. 18 News has been following this story after a tip on December 25, 2022 that claimed Andrusenko was in Elmira. If anyone has a tip regarding this incident or others, you can submit them by calling 607-733-8658 or by clicking here.

We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.