Former American councilor who fled US over child porn charge enlists with Russia in war with Ukraine

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.