A 30-year-old man, identified as religious leader of an evangelical churchwas arrested last Friday (19) suspect of rape of vulnerable teenagers male in Guará, in the Federal District.
The temporary arrest occurred during Operation Pennsylvania, launched by the PCDF (Civil Police of the Federal District) to dismantle an abuse scheme that would have lasted around six years.
The investigations, coordinated by delegate Herbert Léda, from the 4th Police Station, revealed that the suspect used his position of authority and coordination of courses on “sexual integrity” to get closer to the victims.
According to the police, through these activities, he obtained emotions of young people in vulnerable family situations to commit crimes in a premeditated manner.
The investigator’s pattern of action involved invitations to individual meetings under false pretexts of spiritual counseling. On these occasions, he created situations of isolation to initiate approaches that gradually evolved into sexual abuse.
According to the PCDF, the operation is one of the most relevant actions to combat child and youth exploitation in the DF recently, given the sophistication of the psychological manipulation used.
To date, four victims have been formally heard,when they were between 10 and 17 years old. However, the police are working with the possibility that the number of victims is much higher, as at least eight other teenagers are in the process of being interviewed.
The man remains in prison and investigations continue to identify new cases and consolidate the investigation sent to Justice.
*Under the supervision of Carolina Figueiredo
