The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) rejected the annulment of the hearing of the case that acquitted businessman André de Camargo Aranha of the accusation of rape against digital influencer Mariana Ferrer. The decision, which was handed down yesterday (17), also maintains the businessman’s acquittal.
The panel judged an appeal by the influencer’s defense to cancel the hearing in which she was humiliated by the accused’s lawyer. The hearing was held in 2020 by judge Rudson Marcos, of the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina (TJ-SC).
Unanimously, the ministers of the Sixth Panel of the Court followed the rapporteur, Minister Sebastião Reis, and denied the appeal for procedural reasons. For the members of the collegiate, the nullity of the hearing was not requested at the appropriate procedural time, that is, in the appeal addressed to the second instance.
“When reading the reasons for the appellant’s appeal, it appears that there is no request for a declaration of nullity of the hearing at which it was heard, a circumstance that rejects the alleged omission”, said Reis.
Remember the case
At the hearing in which model and digital influencer Mariana Ferrer gave testimony as a victim, in July 2020, the businessman’s defense lawyer displayed personal photos of Mariana, making misogynistic comments that had no relation to the merits of the case in question. The video of the hearing also shows that the defender humiliated and disrespected the influencer several times without the judge or prosecutor intervening.
Video release had a great impact with public opinion.
In November last year, the National Council of Justice (CNJ) punished the judge Rudson Marcos with a warning. According to the decision, the judge was silent during the hearing and allowed the lawyer to disqualify Mariana.
In 2021, it was published the law No. 14,245, which provides punishment for acts against the dignity of victims of sexual violence and witnesses during trials, and which became known as the Mariana Ferrer Law.
