A former Massachusetts city councilor who fled the US earlier this year over a child porn charge is now fighting for Russia in its war with Ukraine.
Ex-Holyoke official, Wilmer
Puello-Mota, who was also a Massachusetts National Guardsman, appeared to be
inside a Russian enlistment center where he signed up to join the war effort on
behalf of the Kremlin, newly surfaced footage showed last week, according to
reports.
The fugitive was filmed in an
enlistment location with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the
background, according to the Guardian.
“An American signed a military
contract at the patriots [center] in Khanty-Mansiysk,” a telegram message
stated in the video put up by the region’s official Telegram channel, according
to the outlet.
Puello-Mota, 28, purportedly
said he wanted to become a Russian citizen in an interview with Ugra-TV, the
Daily Beast reported.
The ex-politician’s legal
turmoil began after authorities found naked photos of a 17-year-old girl on his
cell phone in 2020, the Boston Globe reported. He was charged with child
pornography back then even as he tried to claim he thought the victim was 22.
He’s also facing obstruction of
the judicial system, forgery, and counterfeiting for allegedly presenting fake
documents to the Massachusetts Air National Guard in a bid to trick commanders
following the child porn charge, according to the Globe.
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