Reported cases occurred in 2023 and in October last year and are already under investigation
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro received this Tuesday (3) new complaints from victims who claim to have suffered sexual violence by suspects involved in the gang rape case in Copacabana, which occurred at the end of January. You reported cases occurred in 2023 and in October last year and are already under investigation.
According to investigations, the victim who suffered violence in October 2023 was 14 years old at the time and, on that occasion, he was also the target of a gang rape in an apartment in the Maracanã neighborhood. Similar circumstances to the recent case surprised investigators. “A report exactly the same as that of the current victim”, said delegate Ângelo Lages, from the 12th DP (Copacabana), who is heading the investigations.
“In other words, she (the 14-year-old victim) had already had a previous relationship with the same teenager and he took advantage of that trust to lure her to an apartment. And, when she arrived at that apartment, Mattheus was there – who handed himself in today – and another person she refers to by the name of ‘Gabriel'”, Lages told the report.
A The victim also reported that, in addition to sexual violence, she was the target of aggression and psychological violence. “Just like the victim from January this year”, said Lages.
The third complaint, also made by a young underage girl, reported that sexual violence was suffered in October last year during a party organized among students. She is also a student at Colégio Pedro II, the school where, according to investigations, the suspects study. According to the victim, she was raped by Vitor Hugo Oliveira Simonim, who is on the run.
Simonim is the son of José Carlos Costa Simonim, who held the position of undersecretary of Governance, Compliance and Administrative Management of the Government of Rio, a body linked to the state department of Social Development and Human Rights. The undersecretary was dismissed from his position after the episode.
Defendants imprisoned
In relation to the sexual violence that occurred in January 2026, the suspects Mattheus Veríssimo Zoel Martins and João Gabriel Xavier Bertho, both aged 19, handed themselves in to the police this Tuesday and are under arrest. Bruno Felipe dos Santos Allegretti and Vitor Hugo Oliveira Simonim, also suspected of involvement in the crime, were arrested this Wednesday.
A teenager, who also allegedly participated in the sexual assaults, is the target of a representation from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. His identity was not disclosed.
He is believed to be responsible for luring the 17-year-old victim to an apartment in Copacabana. During the act, other attackers entered the property and committed rape. The teenager was not apprehended and will be charged with an offense similar to rape. The four adults are now responsible for rape.
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