Court of Appeal of Évora
The Évora Court of Appeal confirmed the Public Prosecutor’s appeal and reversed the suspended sentence that had been decided by the Beja Court.
The Court of Appeal of Évora decided aggravate the sentence imposed on a 19-year-old convicted of crimes of rape and domestic violence, reversing the decision of the Beja Court that had ordered the suspension of the prison sentence.
In the first instance, the defendant, Carlos Costa, born in Penafiel and resident in Lousada, had been sentenced to five years in prison, but benefited from the Special Regime for Young Adults, which led to the suspension of the sentence. After having been in pre-trial detention since February last year, he was eventually released in November, subject to measures such as the ban on approaching the victim and the obligation to pay compensation of five thousand euros.
However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office appealed the decision, considering that the first court did not properly appreciate the seriousness of the facts nor the risk that the accused could continue to pose to the victim. The appeal was accepted by the Court of Appeal of Évora, which determined the effective fulfillment of the prison sentence, according to the .
The facts date back to February last year, when the young man traveled more than 500 kilometers to Almodôvarwhere the victim lived. According to the ruling, he entered the house, attacked the woman, forced her to take off her clothes and gagged her to prevent her from screaming. Under threat of a knife, raped her and also threatened to kill the victim’s dog.
The relationship between accused and victim began when the young man was integrated into an institution in Castro Verde, where the woman worked as a monitor. Between 2023 and early 2025, they maintained a romantic relationship.
During the period of imprisonment at the Beja Prison, the accused filed a complaint against the victim, accusing her of sexual abuse of a dependent minorclaiming that the relationship began when he was still a minor. However, this accusation was considered false within the scope of the process.
