Klaud Rommel. Photo: BAZA

Security forces in the Russian city of St. Petersburg have detained an Orthodox blogger and Ukraine war veteran on suspicion of raping a ten-year-old girl, Telegram news channel Baza reported on Tuesday.

Klaud Rommel, 31, was held on Monday and is currently in a detention centre, Baza said. According to local newspaper Fontanka, Rommel is under investigation for rape of a minor and violent acts of a sexual nature.

The alleged act of violence against the child may have occurred in February, Baza said, adding that the ten-year-old girl in question was the daughter of Rommel’s former partner.

Rommel is said to have moved the child into his bedroom “because of her difficult relationship with her mother”, according to Baza. A relative of the young girl contacted the police when she became aware of the situation.

Rommel went to fight in the war in Ukraine once law enforcement began conducting an investigation into the alleged crime. He was wounded and returned home, and was detained shortly thereafter. Rommel denies all the charges against him and says that he had merely given the girl “a medical massage”.

Rommel maintains a YouTube channel with over 7,000 subscribers where he talks about Russian Orthodoxy. He also published videos from the front line, in one case filming straight after an attack in which he almost lost a leg.