The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) decided this Tuesday (13) to reinstate the conviction of Gabriel Ferreira Mesquita to six years in prison for the crime of rape. 
The case became known in Brasília for involving complaints from a group of 12 women who accused Gabriel, owner of the Bambambã bar, of abuse during sexual relations.
The case under trial involves the case of two women. They claimed that they had consensual sexual relations with the accused, but after they asked him to stop the act, he forced them and continued.
By 3 votes to 2, the Sixth Chamber of the STJ accepted an appeal from the Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories (MPDFT) to reinstate Gabriel’s conviction.
In the first instance of the Federal District Court, the accused was sentenced to six years for raping two women, but the sentence was overturned in the second instance. For the judges, there was no evidence of coercion on the part of the two victims and there should have been a “serious and effective reaction” to refuse anal sex.
The STJ’s understanding was based on the vote of Minister Sebastião Reis Júnior. For the minister, rape also occurs in consensual sexual relations.
“Consent previously given does not mean that the other person can force the person to continue the act. If one of the partners decides to interrupt the sexual relationship and the other, with violence and serious threats, forces the person who has given up to continue, this will constitute rape,” he stated.
Reis also added that the defendant ignored the women’s requests to stop the act. In addition, the minister mentioned that there are reports of other women who also went through the same situation involving the defendant.
“The court of origin, by trying to discredit the victim’s word based on his subsequent behavior and indicating the lack of eyewitnesses, departed from the STJ’s jurisprudence that the victim’s testimony in sexual crimes has special probative value,” he added.
THE Brazil Agency contacted Gabriel Ferreira Mesquita’s defense and is awaiting a response.
