Pastor couple is indicted on suspicion of sexual abuse of teenagers in Roraima

According to police, some victims reported that the abuse had been repeated for years. The couple worked in the state capital, Boa Vista, the city where the crimes under investigation were committed, according to the Roraima police.

The two were indicted on suspicion of rape of a vulnerable person, sexual harassment and procedural fraud, among others.

The investigation was forwarded to the State Public Ministry and the Judiciary. The Prosecutor's Office must consider whether to present a criminal complaint to the Court, which could initiate criminal proceedings.

The cases began, according to the police, when Arielly was still a minor and was dating the pastor.

Folha had access to one of the processes in which one of the victims, aged 14, accompanied by an 18-year-old friend, reported to the police station one of the abuses suffered.

"The pastor took the minor to the last street in the neighborhood, not a busy one, and played a game of guessing the color of her underwear and asked her to take off one of her pieces, her blouse or her pants. She said she didn't feel comfortable, so the pastor asked her to show her her bra, [then] he put her on her back and started masturbating", says an excerpt from the police report.

The investigation began in April after two teenagers spontaneously sought out the DPCA (Child and Adolescent Protection Office). In around 50 days, police interviewed 41 people and identified other victims.

According to delegate Kamilla Basto, responsible for the case, the couple used their position of religious leadership to gain the trust of teenagers in situations of emotional and economic vulnerability.

"The religious environment was deliberately used as an instrument of approach and control. They took advantage of faith as a manipulation mechanism and used reverential fear to keep the victims silent," he stated.

In total, police say they identified 11 teenagers, aged between 12 and 17. Five people who showed signs of also having been victims chose not to give evidence.

According to the investigation, the suspects told the teenagers that the abuse was justified by religious interpretations of the Bible and stated that the acts served to satisfy the woman's supposed sexual desire, presented as part of a spiritual practice.

According to the delegate, the pastor offered positions within the church, such as deaconess and pastor, to reward victims and witnesses and reinforce the control exercised over them.

Investigations also show that some teenagers remained under the couple's influence for years.

In one of the cases, according to the Civil Police, the abuse evolved into sexual violence also committed by other men. "Occasion in which the victims remained blindfolded so as not to recognize the other perpetrators", according to the delegate.

The police claim that the church had five congregations distributed between Roraima and Amazonas. Some of the victims maintained religious ties with those investigated and, in some cases, there was also a family relationship.

Lawyer Fabiano Negreiros, who represents the pastor couple, stated that both deny the accusations against them.

According to the lawyer, the defense is waiting for the officer to access the final report of the police investigation and other documents in the case before presenting its statement in detail.

"My clients claim innocence and I will leave it to speak as soon as the delegate adds the final report to the case. The defense needs to have official access to this information", said the defender.

PROCEDURE FRAUD

During the investigation, the Civil Police also concluded that there was an attempt to destroy evidence. A 20-year-old woman was indicted for procedural fraud and corruption of minors on suspicion of participating in the elimination of data stored on the cell phone of the person being investigated.

According to the police, one of the victims was also instructed to file a false police report reporting the disappearance of the device.

Pastor Wenderson Lima de Souza was indicted on suspicion of rape of a vulnerable person, sexual harassment, favoring prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation of a child, adolescent or vulnerable person, unauthorized registration of sexual intimacy, procedural fraud and ideological falsehood.

His wife, Arielly Kamila Moraes de Souza, is considered a suspect of rape of a vulnerable person, sexual harassment and procedural fraud.

The delegate informed that those investigated have no known criminal record. She added that, if new victims contact the Civil Police, a complementary investigation could be launched.

The church was closed and the representation for the arrest of those being investigated is being processed under judicial secrecy.

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