Court of Oeiras also denied sexual content in messages exchanged between 14 -year -olds and man of 33. Relationship admits that behavior was “expropriated” and that “the doubt will always be” about what could have happened.
A 33 -year -old man, accused by the Public Prosecution Service (MP) of sexual harassment and enticement of a under 14 years, after requesting, by Instagram, a whole body photograph, was acquitted by the Oeiras Courts and, later, of the Lisbon Relationship.
The defendant, married and with a son, started contact with the teenager knowing that this was smaller, in 2022. He asked for the telephone number of the girl and asked if she was alone at home.
After receiving a photograph of her face, the defendant insisted: “Send but a whole body”cites the, who had access to the judgment, this Wednesday, to which the teenager responded with the blockade of the contact of the suspect, having informed her parents.
But the 33 -year -old man was acquitted. This is because the three judges responsible for the decision (João Grilo Amaral, Alda Tomé Casimiro and Rui Coelho) came to the conclusion that “this Message contains no sexual connotationneither implicit nor explicit, for he has not associated any element that immediately suggest that he intends to have sexual ability, since he has not been preceded or succeeded by other messages that can characterize it as such, ”says JN.
And they also justify the decision that the defendant did not ask the girl to be naked, nor to focus specific parts of the body in the photograph.
The prosecutor accused the man of trying to start a process of grooming – Term used to describe the manipulation of minors by adults with sexual intentions, often disguised by initially innocent approaches. The goal is to achieve the child’s confidence to then get intimate images or achieve face -to -face encounters with the intention of abuse.
“The defendant’s conduct is part of one of the various phenomena associated with sexual violence practiced against children and young people, the grooming Online, which begins, a general rule, through a non -sexual approach, to encourage the child or young man to produce and send intimate content, ”said the MP, who requested a sentence of six months in prison, suspended in his execution, or a fine of 840 euros.
However, both the Oeiras Court and the Lisbon Appeal ruled for acquittal, although they underline in the judgment that man’s behavior was “expropriated” and that in fact “The doubt will always be” About what could have happened if the minor had sent the photo to the suspect.
“We understand the inconvenience [da menor]which is why it immediately blocked the contact, but We do not believe that there was any sexual ability in the exchange of messages maintainedwhich is why the defendant’s acquittal is imposed, ”had concluded before the Local Criminal Court of Oeiras.
