Overview
- Carabinieri, acting on a custody order from a Lecce judge, arrested a 71-year-old man and the child’s 53-year-old mother on charges of aggravated sexual assault and child pornography.
- Both suspects are being held in prison as the investigation led by the Lecce Prosecutor’s Office continues.
- Investigators reconstructed repeated abuse from August 2024 to August 2025, and prosecutors allege the mother recorded the acts and sent the images and videos to the man.
- Officers seized phones and other electronic devices from both suspects for court-ordered forensic analysis that could shape the case.
- The child has been placed in a protected community for safety and care, and local reports note multiple Carabinieri stations joined the operation, with one outlet adding the probe may have been sparked by a tip about the man posing as a gynecologist.