Former Navy officer sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing child

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (WLNE) – A former Navy commander from Middletown was sentenced Friday to life in prison for sexually abusing a child during his service and after he retired.

Ronald Zenga plead guilty last year to four criminal counts, including coercion of a minor and child pornography.

Authorities say in 2018, he was involved in an international child pornography investigation, when he was caught communicating with an undercover officer from England through a Russian file share website.

Zenga was sentenced to life in federal prison and lifetime federal supervised release. He must also pay $500,000 in restitution to the victim.

Zenga was a pilot and Navy officer.