Italian Pizza Chef Convicted of Child Abuse Captured in Ukraine

Kyiv: A 51-year-old Italian pizza chef, Gianni Cenni, has been apprehended by Ukrainian special forces in the Donbass region after reportedly being recruited by Moscow to join the Russian army. Cenni fled Italy before being convicted by a Naples court for sexually abusing a minor, according to press reports released on Tuesday.

According to Ansa News Agency, Cenni left his hometown of Naples after allegedly threatening the victim’s parents once he discovered they had reported him to the authorities. He was subsequently sentenced to seven years and two months in prison for the abuse, which involved a seven-year-old girl, the daughter of relatives, between 2010 and 2012. Cenni, however, evaded prison time by fleeing Italy before his conviction.

After leaving Italy, Cenni moved to Finland and later settled in Samara, Russia, where he became involved with a Russian woman and worked as a chef at an Italian restaurant named “Anima.” In a video shared on social media, Cenni claimed that he was coerced by Russian authorities into fighting in Ukraine, as reported by the Rome daily, La Repubblica.

Cenni’s criminal history in Italy includes serving a prison sentence for a murder committed in 1999 while he was employed as a guard in Milan. His recent recruitment as a volunteer to fight in Ukraine occurred on November 13, 2024. He was captured during a Ukrainian operation behind enemy lines in the Kupyansk area of the Lugansk region, between January 7 and 8.