Lúcio Barreto Júnior is one of the religious leaders of the Lagoinha Church, in Belo Horizonte; speech was preaching about fatherhood
A Civil Police of Minas Gerais reported this Friday (May 3, 2024) that it will investigate the statements of the pastor who said he kissed his own daughter on the mouth. Lúcio Barreto Júnior, known as Lucinho Barreto, is one of the religious leaders of Lagoinha Baptist Church, in Belo Horizonte. In a video, which went viral on Thursday (May 2) on social media, the pastor says that he called his daughter, Emily Barreto Bicharra, a “woman”.
“I picked up my daughter one day, gave her a kiss, told her I loved her. She would pass by and I would say: wow, what a woman. Oh, if I catch you. One day she got distracted and I kissed her on the mouth. And I said: When I meet your boyfriend, I’ll say: you’re the 2nd, I’ve already kissed”, he said during a sermon.
The Civil Police stated that the case is being investigated by the Specialized Police Station for Child and Adolescent Protection in Belo Horizonte.
Wanted by Power360O MPMG (Public Ministry of Minas Gerais), through the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Crimes against Children and Adolescents, said that it was aware of the video, but no longer has the competence to deal with it. Today, the pastor’s daughter is of legal age. The MP reported that he is awaiting the conclusion of the police investigation.
Lucinho Barreto’s statement was made during a service held on April 15. The pastor spoke about fatherhood to an audience of around 1,000 men. Lucinho has a master’s degree in theology and sells courses on personal development and religiosity.
In a statement on social media, this Friday (May 3), he said he was speaking to parents about “the need to raise children’s self-esteem”.
Watch the moment when the pastor talks about kissing his own daughter (1min23s):
PASTOR DEFENDS HIMSELF
Lucinho Barreto released a video, this Friday (May 3), on his Instagram in which he says that his statement was “taken out of context” and who hates everything that “tin relation to pedophilia and child abuse”.
“I made a joking comment, anyone who knows my preaching style knows what I’m like. But now they are taking it out of context. What I meant was that I gave my daughter an innocent kiss, a pure kiss, with the intention of boosting her self-esteem”, he stated.
Watch (2min35s):
Lucinho’s daughter, Emily, also spoke about the case on the social network. She denied that her father kissed her on the mouth and defended him saying that people “they did crazy things” with the excerpt from the video that went viral.
“They took (the excerpt) to say that my father abused me. I’m here to tell you that it’s a lie. My father never kissed me with tongue, he never did anything to me. In fact, he always gave me a good example of a father figure.a”, he declared.
Watch (3min9s):
REPERCUSSION
The term “pedophile” was one of the most commented on this Friday (May 2) on the social network X (formerly Twitter). There were almost 10,000 posts published with the term. Most associated with pastor Lucinho Barreto.
Some posts also mention the name of the federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG). The congressman once attended church. Lagoinha is a mega church based in Belo Horizonte and holds services throughout Brazil. Its president is pastor André Valadão, supporter of the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
