He posed as a gynecologist but was actually a sort of "holy man" who claimed to solve his patients' medical and emotional problems with prayers and advice. Among his victims was an eight-year-old girl. The man, a 71-year-old, was arrested and taken to Lecce prison on charges of aggravated sexual assault and production and possession of child pornography. He was also accompanied by a 53-year-old woman, the child's mother. The two, residents of Salento , do not live together.
The facts contested in the restraining order, issued by the Lecce investigating judge at the request of the Prosecutor's Office, refer to the period between August 2024 and August 2025, during which the two suspects allegedly systematically forced the little girl to suffer sexual abuse by the man, in which the mother allegedly participated.
The latter also allegedly documented the abuse with photos and videos, which she sent to the man along with other child pornography material involving the child. Upon their arrest, the Carabinieri seized computer equipment owned by both suspects. The child was placed in a protected community to ensure her safety and initiate the necessary support and recovery process.
The investigation that led to the arrest of the two was launched after the father of another minor, a 17-year-old, noticed a chat in which the alleged healer had repeatedly asked his daughter to send him intimate photos that he claimed would be useful for her healing. The 17-year-old's father then decided to confront the healer, intending to obtain the cell phone containing his daughter's photos, which he managed to gain possession of after a struggle. He took the device to the Carabinieri, who discovered a horrifying story stored in the phone's memory: the existence of abuse suffered by an 8-year-old girl, committed by the man with the complicity of the girl's mother.
(Unioneonline)
