A 68-year-old woman married her 95-year-old father in Celorico de Basto, sparking controversy after two siblings alleged corruption at the Guimarães Civil Registry Office, where the marriage was officiated.
The union between Maria da Conceição Moreira Pacheco de Lima and Manuel Teixeira da Lima, both residents of Rua da Venda, Fermil, in the Celorico de Basto municipality, took place on May 18. Two of Maria’s siblings have filed complaints to the Public Prosecutor’s Office against her and the civil registry officials for failing to verify birth certifications and paternity.
The marriage certificate states that Maria da Conceição was born on February 18, 1957, to Manuel Teixeira Lima and Joaquina das Dores Moreira Pacheco.
“It must have involved corruption,” said one of Maria’s sisters, highlighting the curious similarity between the groom’s and the bride’s father’s names.
The complaining sister suggested that Maria married her father, who shows signs of senility, to access his pension benefits after having been his caregiver. Manuel Teixeira receives a pension between 2,500 and 3,000 euros for his work in France and owns the residence where he lives, along with some money and gold.
The siblings now seek annulment of the marriage, which was witnessed by another sister, a brother-in-law, and a daughter-in-law, “in memory of the mother,” who passed away in October 2024.
In Portugal, adult incest is not criminalized if consensual; however, marriage is prohibited under Article 1602 of the Civil Code, which deems such unions void if there is “direct line kinship.”
Conceição Ruão, a lawyer, remarked that incest is not criminalized due to anticipated social condemnation and identified an oversight by the registry office for not adequately identifying the parties involved. She noted that the civil registry office or the Public Prosecutor could request annulment and that the father, daughter, and witnesses could face charges for false declarations.
