A 47-year-old man has been detained by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) on suspicion of multiple child sexual abuse crimes and two aggravated rape charges. One of the victims is his 13-year-old stepdaughter.
The suspect is a foreign citizen with legal residency in Portugal, and the crimes took place in the Peniche area, in the Leiria district.
These incidents were reported to the PJ on Friday, prompting “immediate urgent actions” that allowed investigators to gather significant evidence leading to the suspect’s out-of-custody arrest.
According to a PJ statement, one victim, aged 13, “is the suspect’s stepdaughter and had been subjected to significant sexual acts within her own home since she was 10 years old.”
Another minor, aged 14, “was reportedly raped twice during the last week, in a house where the suspect had access, belonging to friends who entrusted him with the keys for mail checking and maintenance.”
The man was presented to judicial authorities for the initial judicial interrogation but was released. The coercive measures imposed were a prohibition on contacting the victims, immediate departure from his residence, and biweekly reporting to the GNR station in Peniche.
