For the Civil Police, the set of evidence with a coherent report, an expert report compatible with the attacks narrated, images and formal recognition, consolidated, from the beginning, the characterization of the crime involving the use of physical force, recorded at the end of January, in Copacabana, in the south zone of Rio. According to delegate Angelo Lages, head of the unit, since the first assistance It was clear to the team that it was a crime of sexual violence.
“She was insulted many times there, and also suffered physical attacks. This shocked a lot of people, because, in addition to everything they had already done, They even attacked this girl a lotso much so that she arrived here at the police station still bleeding,” said the police chief.
According to Lages, the victim’s physical and emotional state immediately caught the police officers’ attention.
“It was visible, she even had obvious injuries, she was even bleeding, so much so that we tried to commit a crime. We went to the scene of the crime, but they were no longer there. That was when we continued with the investigations. She was sent for a forensic examination — a very important piece — because the expert said that her entire report was compatible with the injuries.”
The medico-legal report, attached to the investigation, confirmed the existence of multiple attacks.
“She had injuries to her genitals, back, buttocks, including a suspected rib fracture. See that, in her statement, she says that she was kicked very hard in that region. So, we had the IML report, we had her statement, We also capture images. We saw the arrival of these criminals, we also noticed their departure. Afterwards, she was called here and we made the recognition report.”
According to the delegate, and detailed individual performance of each one.
“She recognized and individualized the conduct of each of them in that room, in that horror scene, and, from that, we were able to close the investigation, forward it to the Public Ministry and obtain arrest warrants.”
Victim reinforced denial of consent
Lages highlighted that, at no point, did the young woman indicate her intention to maintain any type of relationship with people other than her ex-boyfriend with whom she had arranged the meeting.
“At no point did she let it appear, even in the slightest, that she could have any type of relationship with other people. She went there to meet an ex-boyfriend, someone she had already had a relationship with, who studied at the same school as her, whom she trusted. And she was clear: she stated, even upon arriving at the apartment, when they were going up in the elevator — it’s in the statement —: ‘I’m not going to do anything with anyone, I want to be alone with you’.”
In her statement, the teenager also highlighted that she thought only her ex-boyfriend and his friend were there. When he arrived, not everyone was there: there were only two in the room.
“So much so that they entered the apartment, went to the bedroom, closed the door, but did not lock it, and she was taken by surprise with the entry of these other four adults, who invaded the room and began to commit the violence to which she was subjected”, concluded the delegate.
Suspects begin to come forward
Two of the adults identified in the crime: João Gabriel Xavier Bertho and Mattheus Verissimo Zoel Martins handed themselves in this Tuesday (3). The Civil Police expects Bruno Felipe dos Santos Allegretti and Vitor Hugo Oliveira Simonin to present themselves in the next few hours. In the case of the teenager, there was no warrant issued against him, but he was charged with an offense similar to rape.
In a statement, João Gabriel Xavier Bertho’s defense informed that he “trusts that the Court, in an impartial manner, will investigate the facts and decide whether the complaint should be dismissed, and that the client “denies rape” and states that he “did not even have the opportunity to be heard by the police”.
A CNN Brazil tries to contact the lawyers of the other young people mentioned in the crime.
