URBANA — A former University Laboratory High School coach who had been at large for three years since he was convicted of a sex crime has been remanded to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Meanwhile, Steve Richards, the Northbrook attorney representing Yuri Ermakov, 28, filed a petition on Thursday morning asking that Ermakov’s two convictions be vacated and that he be granted a new trial.

Ermakov was taken into custody at O’Hare Airport in Chicago by FBI agents on Wednesday, according to FBI spokesman Brad Ware.

Ermakov is believed to have been in Russia since 2007 when he left the Champaign County Courthouse while a jury was deliberating charges in connection with his conduct with female students at Uni High, where Ermakov was employed as an assistant track coach, in the fall of 2005 and the winter of 2006.

In July 2007, a jury convicted Ermakov of criminal sexual assault for contact with a then-15-year-old girl and contributing to the delinquency of a minor for giving alcohol to two 16-year-old girls.

Ermakov was acquitted of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

In August 2007, Judge Jeff Ford sentenced Ermakov in his absence to 12 years in prison.

On Thursday, Richards asked that Ermakov be kept at the Champaign County Jail while Ford considers the post-conviction petition, saying it would be easier for him to litigate the petition if Ermakov remained in Urbana.

Ford denied the request, noting it could take as long as four months before a hearing on Ermakov’s petition is held to allow for time for the judge to review the petition and the state’s attorney’s office to respond to the petition.

“It will cost $100 a day to hold the prisoner, and Champaign County is broke,” Ford said. “There is no compelling reason to keep him here. It will cost us money we don’t have.”

Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz noted that Ermakov had, under the law, only three years to get a post-conviction petition on file. Ermakov was sentenced on Aug. 20, 2007.

The petition filed by Richards alleges that Ermakov’s previous attorney, Carol Dison, failed to provide him effective counsel during the trial.

The 12-page petition alleges Dison’s preparation for the trial and defense during the trial were insufficient.

“I’m very confident the court will find the vast majority, if not all, of the allegations in the post-conviction petition are frivolous,” Rietz said. “This trial was conducted absolutely appropriately by all involved.”

According to the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission website, Dison no longer practices law in Illinois. Her license to practice law became inactive in February 2009 because of a disability, according to the site.

Dison could not be reached for comment.

Rietz said the state’s attorney’s office agreed not to file charges connected to Ermakov’s flight as part of the negotiations that resulted in Ermakov returning to the country.

“Because of the diligent work by the FBI and the University of Illinois Police Department, Mr. Ermakov was located, returned to Illinois, and placed into custody to face the Champaign County Court system,” said Stu McArthur, special agent in charge of the FBI in Springfield, in a written release. “This case is an excellent example of federal and local law enforcement partners working together to bring justice to our communities.”