Man who raped his stepdaughter is sentenced to more than 59 years in prison in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul

A man was sentenced to 59 years, 10 months and 20 days in prison, in a closed regime, for the crime of rape committed against his stepdaughter. He must also pay the victim a fine of R$35,000, with interest and monetary correction. The decision by Judge Priscila Anadon Carvalho, head of the 1st Judicial Court of the District of São Sebastião do Caí, is this Monday (25/03).

Case

According to the complaint, the abuse would have occurred, at least, between 2015, when the victim was under 14 years of age, until 2017. The acts initially consisted of groping the stepdaughter’s body and, so that she would not say anything to the mother and family, the stepfather offered chocolates. He also allegedly asked her for a kiss on her birthday, threatening that if the teenager didn’t give in, he would kill himself.

Days later, the man allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim, taking her virginity, and asked her to remain silent, otherwise people would kill him. The young woman said that, whenever she didn’t do something the defendant wanted, he would go to the bathroom and put a rope around his neck, saying he was going to kill himself. And when these arguments no longer worked, he started threatening the young woman’s friends and even her mother.

The young woman said that it was only when she reached 18 years old and started working that she was encouraged by a friend to tell her what she was suffering.

The defense claimed that the case was nothing more than a fantasy story prepared by the victim, and asked for the defendant’s acquittal, due to insufficient evidence, or, alternatively, for the crime to be disqualified.

Decision

The judge pointed out that the victim’s testimony is a crucial element in the investigation of sexual crimes. “In this case, the victim’s words, in addition to being cohesive and coherent, also find support in the testimony of the witnesses”, highlighted Judge Priscila Anadon Carvalho. She also assessed that the case demonstrated premeditation, in that the defendant was dedicated to manipulating the victim from a young age, “using various tricks, blackmail and threats, establishing true psychological terror as a method of execution.”

“The perception, rooted in the victims’ imagination, that they bear some percentage of blame for the abuse, is not uncommon in cases of this nature and does not show weakness in the evidentiary content, but, on the contrary, it suggests a materialization of the so-called rape culture, fostered by patriarchal and sexist values ​​rooted in society, which often effectively result in the creation of a scenario that blames the victim instead of welcoming them”, considered the Judge.

“In the case in question, I do not consider it correct to classify the victim’s narrative as fanciful; otherwise, I consider it coherent and harmonious with the other elements collected, finding a basis in the other elements of evidence and signs collected, and also substantiated by the behavior itself of the defendant”, highlighted the judge.

Source: TJRS