In Rio de Janeiro, the Civil Police are investigating a crime, in Copacabana, in the South Zone. The crime was allegedly committed on January 31, 2026. Four men and an underage teenager are suspects.
Brazilian legislation establishes greater prison sentences when rape is collective and committed against minors under 18 years of age. Some of these aggravating factors were established in recent years, as a response by the Legislature to the public repercussion of other crimes.
Understand the main types, aggravating factors and punishments provided for by law.
Rape crime
The text that deals with the crime of rape is in article 213 of the Penal Code. The current wording was approved through Law No. 12,015, of 2009.
She defines rape as the act of “compelling someone, through violence or serious threat, to have carnal knowledge or to perform or allow another libidinous act to be performed with them”.
Legal terms can raise doubts. In more common language, “carnal conjunction” means sexual act in which there is penetration.
“Libidinous act” is any practice that aims to satisfy a sexual desire, without necessarily involving penetration: touching private parts, masturbation in public, oral or anal sex, and any bodily contact with sexual connotations without consent.
Therefore, “embarrassment”, “violence”, “threat” e “lack of consent” These are central terms to classify any sexual practice as a crime. The projection is 6 to 10 years in prison for those responsible.
Some aggravating factors can increase the sentence. If the victim suffers serious bodily injury or is under 18, the culprit could face eight to twelve years in prison. If the crime results in the death of the victim, the expected penalty is 12 to 30 years in prison.
Gang rape
Law No. 13,718, of 2018, increased the penalties for cases in which there is collective rape. To be considered “collective”it is enough to have two or more people responsible for the crime. There is also mention of the so-called “corrective rape”a crime in which there is the objective of “controlling the victim’s social or sexual behavior”.
In these cases, the penalty can be increased by between 1/3 and 2/3. Which means that the maximum prison time increases from 10 years (individual crime) to 16 years and 8 months (collective crime).
The law was proposed after the repercussions of a 2016 case, when a 34-year-old woman was the victim of a gang rape in São Gonçalo, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro.
According to her, at least 10 men participated in the crime. The police caught 2 teenagers in the act, but the other suspects managed to escape.
Rape of vulnerable
Brazilian legislation establishes greater penalties in cases where the rape victim is considered vulnerable: children under 14 and people with disabilities. The most recent update on the subject was established by law 15,280 of 2025.
Rape of a vulnerable person is now punishable by imprisonment for 10 to 18 years. Rape resulting in serious bodily harm will be punishable by 12 to 24 years, and rape resulting in death will be punishable by between 20 and 40 years in prison.
Carrying out a sexual act in the presence of a minor under the age of 14 has a projected sentence of 5 to 12 years. Subjecting children and adolescents to sexual exploitation, sentence of 7 and 16 years. Offering, transmitting or selling rape scenes is now punishable by 4 to 10 years in prison.
In February 2026, the . The PL reaffirms that sexual relations with minors under the age of 14 are a crime regardless of consent, the victim’s sexual experience or pregnancy resulting from rape.
The text was forwarded for presidential sanction.
The PL was a response to a decision by the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais (TJMG), which had. The case rapporteur stated that the relationship between them was “consensual” and that there would have been no violence.
After the repercussions, the court reversed itself and sentenced the man.
With information from .
