After appearing before the judiciary for an initial hearing, a man will await trial under house arrest equipped with an electronic bracelet and subject to identity and residence conditions, with a prohibition on contacting the victim and witnesses by any means, as stated by an official court source.
The measures imposed by the Criminal Instruction Judge are deemed “proportional and appropriate to the intended outcome.”
The accused is suspected of committing 21 crimes of sexual abuse of children, one of which involves aggravated circumstances.
He was apprehended on Wednesday by the Judicial Police, following the initiation of an urgent investigation triggered by a report from the school attended by the minor, located in the municipality of Alenquer in the Lisbon district.
The victim and the accused met via a social network in December 2024, where the man falsely represented himself as being younger than he actually is, according to a statement by the Judicial Police.
After frequent online conversations, they began meeting in person, with the accused, living in a different district, traveling to meet the victim three to four times a week, where significant occurrences of sexual abuse took place near the minor’s residence.
The man was detained while preparing to meet the minor.
