'Italian held by Ukrainians convicted for abusing child'

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 14 - A 51-year-old Italian pizza chef reportedly recruited by Moscow to serve in the Russian army, who was captured by Ukrainian special forces in Donbass in recent days, had left Italy before being found guilty of sexually abusing a little girl by a court in Naples, press reports said Tuesday.
    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 involved in a sentimental 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, where he was captured between January 7 and 8 in the area of Kupyansk, in the Lugansk region, in a Ukrainian operation behind enemy lines. (ANSA).