A legal proceeding has been initiated concerning an alleged incident involving a young girl, aged 10 at the time, who lived in the same building as the accused in Leiria.
The accused reportedly established a close relationship with the child and her family, leading her to visit his home to play. The suspect was a teacher at a local school in Leiria.
The events reportedly took place on August 20, 2024, after the suspect asked the victim’s mother for permission to have the child over to play with his dogs, which she consented to.
The document states that as a result of the suspect’s actions, the child felt sad, uncomfortable, disturbed, and ashamed, fearing more severe sexual acts from him, and began avoiding his presence.
Another victim, now 22, had been a classmate of the suspect’s daughter, attending the same daycare.
The family relationship led to regular visits to each other’s homes.
“On various occasions, between October 2010 and June 2013,” the victim, aged 7 to 10, encountered sexual contact from the accused at his residence.
Another minor, who is presently 20 years old, experienced a similar situation as a friend of the accused’s daughter, visiting his home.
The accused engaged in sexual contact with this victim on at least 20 occasions, between October 2010 and March 2015, when she was under 10 years old, always at his residence.
The document states that the accused subjected this victim to such acts even when others were present in the house, doing so discreetly.
Due to their age, the victims did not understand the nature of the accused’s actions but felt “discomfort and unease,” the instructive decision reveals.
The criminal instruction judge concluded that “the accused always acted knowing the ages” of the victims and with “the determined purpose to engage (…) in sexual acts,” notably touching the victims.
The judge determined that the suspect, who denied the allegations, acted “with repeated and persistent intent to satisfy his lustful desires, knowing it infringed upon the free development of the personality and sexuality of the children and disrupted their sense of modesty and shame, yet still chose to do so.”
The alleged crimes, according to the judge, “do not fit the concept of a significant sexual act,” but rather involve “frotteurism, [a regular and intense sexual arousal from touching and/or rubbing against a non-consenting person], which undoubtedly constitutes sexual contact.”
The trial by a collective court is scheduled to commence on January 22, 2026.
