The man, who is a pizza chef, was captured by Ukrainian special forces in Donbass in recent days
Gianni Cenni left his hometown of Naples after allegedly threatening the little girl’s parents when he found out that they had reported him to the authorities, according to the reports.
Cenni, who has been sentenced to seven years and two months in prison for sexually abusing the minor, moved to Finland and then to the Russian city of Samara after getting into a relationship with a Russian woman.
In Samara, he worked as a chef in the Italian restaurant Anima.
In a video posted on social media, Cenni claimed he was forced by Russia to fight in Ukraine, Rome daily La Repubblica reports.
In Italy, Cenni served time in prison after being convicted for a murder he committed in 1999 while he worked as a guard in Milan.
The Naples court found him guilty of sexually abusing a little girl aged seven, the daughter of relatives, between 2010 and 2012, but he did not serve time as he fled Italy prior to the conviction, according to the reports.
Cenni was reportedly recruited as a volunteer on November 13, 2024, to fight in Ukraine.
He was captured between January 7 and 8 in the area of Kupyansk during a Ukrainian operation behind enemy lines.
ANSA
