Husband and father arrested after keeping his wife and seven children captive for 20 years, during which he allegedly raped them and forced them to undergo abortions in Novo Oriente, Brazil.
The 54-year-old suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, was exposed when one of the children managed to escape after giving him a sleeping pill to report him to the authorities.
The children, aged between 3 and 22, along with the suspect’s mother-in-law, were reportedly victims of sexual abuse. Investigators discovered that he had drilled holes in the walls of their home to watch his daughters while they were getting dressed.
Following a month-long investigation, police raided the property and found three fetuses buried in the garden. The man’s wife, 40, revealed that she had been held captive since she was 17 and was forced to have three abortions.
One of the fetuses recovered was eight months old, and another daughter experienced an unsuccessful abortion of a six-month-old fetus, which survived and was later rescued by a midwife. The girl was in poor health at the time, but her father had denied her medical care.
For their safety, the mother and children have been relocated to another state in Brazil, while the man is currently in preventive custody. He faces charges including false imprisonment, rape of a vulnerable person, psychological violence, abortion, and concealment of a corpse.
Police spokesperson Herika Ribeiro Sena stated, “The victim only left home to receive benefits and was often accompanied by him. None of the neighbors knew her, and even relatives had no access to her.”
