Police investigate pastor who reported having kissed his daughter’s mouth in BH: ‘woman’

The Civil Police of Minas Gerais (PCMG) is investigating pastor Lucinho, from the Lagoinha Baptist Church, in the Northwest region of Belo Horizonte, after he said during a religious service that he had kissed his daughter on the lips while she was “distracted”. The speech went viral on social media this Thursday (May 3).

The video was taken from a service given by the pastor, a member of the Lagoinha Baptist Church, and was published on the church’s YouTube channel on April 15. During the service, held in Belo Horizonte, Lucinho and his son, Davi Barreto, discussed biblical passages, including Genesis 22: 3, also addressing the topic of fatherhood. At one point, he reports kissing his daughter.

“I picked up my daughter one day, I kissed her, I told her I loved her. She was walking by and I said: Wow, what a woman. Oh, I’ll catch you. One day she got distracted and I kissed her on the mouth. And I said like this: When I meet your boyfriend, I’ll say: You’re the second one, I’ve already kissed him”, said the pastor during the service.

The excerpt generated a wave of critical comments, with many people highlighting the inappropriateness of the speech and the potential for inciting sexual violence. Users on social media quickly pointed out the problematic nature of the pastor’s speech, highlighting its potential to normalize sexual violence and incest.

Hours after the case took over social media, the pastor’s daughter, Emily Barreto, used her Instagram profile to defend her father. Mother of a one-year-old son, Emily clarified that her father never kissed her inappropriately, limiting himself, at most, to “pecks”.

“My father never kissed me with the tongue, he never did anything to me. He always gave me a good example of a wonderful father figure because I could always tell him about my disappointments in love and he always helped me”, says Emily in the video. “Nothing like this has ever happened [violência sexual]. They took the speech completely out of context, they just need to come and say that I am being coerced,” she added.

One day after the case came to light, PCMG confirmed that the facts are being investigated by the Specialized Police Station for Child and Adolescent Protection in Belo Horizonte.

Pastor defends himself

This Friday (3), Pastor Lucinho spoke out about the controversy through social media. In a video taken inside an airplane bathroom, the religious man stated that he made a “joking” comment. “I was preaching to men, there were a thousand men and I was telling them about the need to raise the self-esteem of their children, who today have been very attacked in this area. And I made a joking comment, anyone who knows my style of preaching knows what it’s like I am. I joke, I always preach lightly, cheerfully”, he said.

The pastor also claims that the attitude was intended to raise his daughter’s self-esteem and complains that the statement was taken out of context. “But now they are taking it and taking it out of context. What I meant there was that I gave an innocent kiss, a pure kiss to my daughter, with the intention of boosting her self-esteem. It was nothing more than that. I hate everything that It has to do with pedophilia and child abuse, I don’t think children date”, he explains

The religious man ends by asking forgiveness from those who were “saddened” by the speech. “If you were saddened by what I said, I ask your forgiveness. But they are taking what I said there out of context, and the only thing I wanted to say is that we, parents, have to love and care, and kiss and hug our children, tell them how wonderful they are. And the result was successful, my daughter became a wonderful woman, she gave me a beautiful grandson”, he says.

The report contacted the Lagoinha Baptist Church about the case and is awaiting a response. The article will be updated if a position is sent.