He said when he was young, and during late 40s and 50s it was true.
My mother would leave us in the car with the windows open and we were 100% safe.
If any adult would have tried anything, he'd have been beat to death {by my 5' tall Italian mother}. Times change.
As I said on later posts, during the late 40s and 50s it wasn't "true". Kids got abducted and raped. I'm sorry. By the time your Italian mother got back to the car, you'd be gone and the migrant would be miles away with you in the back seat. It happened. Consider yourself blessed.