The actor Carloto Cotta was acquitted on Monday, November 17, of all nine charges against him, including kidnapping and rape.
The Sintra Court unanimously declared the artist innocent in the case involving the alleged rape and kidnapping of a woman he had met in a bookstore at Cascais Shopping.
Judge Carlos Camacho noted “inconsistencies” in the statement of the assistant (alleged victim), who “provided different versions of the events to the National Republican Guard (GNR), the Judicial Police (PJ), in statements for future memory, and in the court itself.”
In her final allegations, Public Prosecutor Maria do Rosário Pires, representing the prosecution, had already called for the acquittal of the actor known for the film “Diamantino.”
Expressing relief, Carloto Cotta described the proceedings as “dantesque and Kafkaesque,” urging that the “presumption of innocence prevails in similar cases in the future.” He commented, “I feel as I did before, innocent.”
The lawyer for the alleged victim, Cristina Borges de Pinho, admitted she is “considering” an appeal, asserting that her client’s testimony is “among the most credible” she has encountered in her “forty-year career.”
Acquitted of nine charges, including kidnapping and rape
Today, Carloto Cotta, 41, was acquitted of charges laid by the Public Prosecutor, including sexual coercion and completed rape, sexual harassment, aggravated kidnapping, and insult.
The victim sought civil damages of approximately 40,000 euros for material and non-material harm.
The events date back to May 2023, occurring at Carloto Cotta’s home in Colares, Sintra. They involved a woman the actor had met months earlier in a bookstore at Cascais Shopping.
The judicial charge, accessed by Lusa, alleges the actor confined the woman in his home for several hours, depriving her “of ambulatory freedom and decision,” coercing her “by physical force” into a non-consensual sexual act, and intending to harm the victim physically and health-wise.
According to the accusations, attempting escape from Carloto Cotta’s residence, the woman jumped from a window to seek help from nearby individuals, resulting in “a head bruise, contusions, and scratches on her right forearm.”
Born in France in 1984, Carloto Cotta studied at the Escola Profissional de Teatro de Cascais, notably working in film and television. He starred in “Arena” (2009) by João Salaviza, “Diamantino” (2018) by Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt, and “Banzo” (2024) by Margarida Cardoso.
He also appeared in films by Miguel Gomes, Margarida Gil, and Diogo Costa Amarante, in soaps like “Santa Bárbara,” “A impostora,” and “Laços de Sangue,” and in series such as “O Americano” and “Casa Abrigo,” the latter yet to debut.
