The Family and Minors Court of Fafe decided to keep a five-year-old girl in her paternal grandmother’s house, the same place where she was sexually abused by her father for at least three years. The mother, who has always fought for custody of her daughter, is now appealing the decision.
An investigation by the journalist Felicia Cabritapublished in the newspaper, reveals how the judicial system ignored all the warning signs and allowed a child to remain for several years under the dominance of his aggressor — his own father.
The girl’s father, Ivo Faria27 years old, former candidate for Chega à União de Freguesias de Antime e Silvares S. Clemente, in Fafe, was detained by the Judicial Police Braga at the end of March.
Consumer and buyer of child pornography on digital platforms, the man confessed to another internet user having had “sex” with his own daughter, Íris. When interviewed after her father’s arrest, the minor described the practices with a realism that is not typical of children’s universe, says the report: “It hurt.”
Despite the seriousness of the alleged facts, the court chose to keep the child with his paternal grandmother, Candida Freitas63-year-old businesswoman, precisely in the same casa where the abuse took placea decision supported by a report from the Technical Advisory Board to the Courts, prepared by professionals who accompanied the family for years without ever suspecting that the minor could be a victim.
The story begins with the couple’s separation. Adriana Alvesnow 28 years old, lived in an annex to Cândida’s house, where he was target of domestic violence on the part of Ivo, as documented in a report by the Institute of Legal Medicine cited by Sol.
Her mother-in-law never intervened to protect her and, according to Adriana, always advised her to surrender to silence.
After his parents’ separation, at the end of 2023, Iris, then three years oldentered a nursery school, presenting severe developmental delays in all areas: unclear language, aggressive behavior and a constant need for adult attention.
Candida Freitas always attributed her granddaughter’s problems to her mother’s negligenceaccusing her of having “psychiatric problems“.
From then on, it triggered a systematic campaign against Adriana near the court and the school, piling up accusations which included alleged mistreatment and, in 2025, a complaint to the PJ for child sexual abuse against his own mother of the child.
The grandmother claimed that Íris returned from visits saying that her mother “kissed her on the mouth and touched her widdle”. The court reacted restricting Adriana’s visits to supervised fortnightly meetings.
The paternal grandmother’s version dominated for years all instances. The kindergarten teacher never spoke to Adriana; the court’s techniques welcomed the Candida’s accusations without questioning.
It was just the psychologist Leonor Barrosowho accompanied Íris, who began to put the mother’s version on the scaleafter a joint meeting with a technician from the Guimarães municipal office for victims of domestic violence.
This professional confirmed that there were no signs of psychiatric pathology in Adriana and considered that the young woman was capable of taking care of her daughter.
Leonor Barroso also tried to convince the school and the Court that the child’s recovery involved strengthening ties with his mother, but Candida reacted furiously and refused follow-up, revealing his true intentions.
“He expected our help to keep his mother away, not the other way around.“, says the psychologist, who ended up being removed, but not without first leaving a warning that no one heard: the need for a expert psychological assessment for all adults involved.
Even after Ivo’s arrestthe grandmother refused psychological support and stayed by her son’s side.
Adriana only managed to start seeing her daughter weekly — with supervision, and thankfully: “Grandma made her lie. Once I took her to the bathroom to pee; when he left, ran to grandma saying I had touched her pipi”, says the girl’s mother.”
“On the last visit he hummed ‘The GNR will take momthe GNR will take mom‘. I asked who said that to her, she replied that it was her grandmother”, recalls Adriana, who questions how it is possible for the courts to keep her daughter in the place where she was abused and with whom accused the mother precisely of what her own son did to the child.
“After everything that happened, It’s urgent to get my daughter out of that house. If not, it only proves that the whole system is failing“, says Adriana, quoted by .
“I believe and hope that, after the father’s arrest and suspicions of sexual abuse, the The right thing to do is to entrust me with custody of my daughterespecially for her safety. Unfortunately, they didn’t hear me in time and they didn’t give me credibility”, laments the girl’s mother.
Adriana asked Iris stay, at least, with your maternal grandmothera request that the court rejected. The mother is now appealing the decision.
Felícia Cabrita says at the beginning of her text that “Justice is a construction that leads to two truths”, and that the Court is on the wrong side of history. But the side that the Court has the thorny task of determining as right is not that of the mother, is not that of the grandmother — It’s little Iris’s.
