The family of a man born in Alabama, and currently on trial in Russia, is still hoping he might win his freedom nearly two years after he was arrested.

David Thomas Barnes, 65, is a native of Gadsden and former resident of Huntsville who moved to the Houston, Texas area. He is currently being held inside Moscow Detention Center No. 5.

He was arrested in January 2022 after he traveled to Russia to meet with his two sons. In the past month, he has been on trial for child abuse accusations brought by his Russian ex-wife.

Barnes, on his way into court in November, told an ABC News reporter as he left the courtroom in handcuffs that he wanted to “thank America for all their prayers and support.”

His sister, Carol, who lives in Huntsville, said her brother’s Russian lawyer informed her that David’s two days of direct examination in court went “quite well.”

“We had hopes that there was a possibility he would be home by Christmas, but that’s not going to happen, unfortunately,” Carol said in a message to supporters.

A Russian judge will decide if Barnes is guilty of abusing his two sons several years ago in Montgomery County, Texas.

Barnes is accused of sexually abusing his two sons,ages 13 and 9, while living in the U.S. The charges were brought by his ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva. Because at least one of the children has Russian nationality, according to reports, Russian authorities claim jurisdiction in the case.

Barnes, who pleaded not guilty, faces up to 20 years in jail for the case.

The couple divorced in 2015, followed by a messy child custody case. Koptyaeva made allegations of sexual abuse against Barnes, which were investigated and found “not credible,” according to Kelly Blackburn, an assistant district attorney with the Montgomery County D.A.’s office in Texas. No charges were ever filed against him in the U.S.

After Barnes was awarded custody of the children, Koptyaeva left the country that same week with the two sons, and David Barnes eventually tracked them to Russia. Koptyaeva was indicted in Montgomery County, Texas on Dec. 12, 2019, for felony interference with child custody. A warrant was issued for her arrest.

When he entered Russia in 2022 to make contact with his sons, Barnes was arrested by Russian police after a report by Koptyaeva.

Barnes, in writing to his family, says he shares a cell with up to a dozen other inmates. He gets one shower a week, sleeps on a steel bunk, reads, writes and prays. He said he is 20 pounds lighter than when he entered the jail almost 22 months ago.