A court in Rio de Janeiro has sentenced Marco Aurélio Leonel da Silva to 56 years and three months in prison for the rape of his daughter, Mayara Aline Braga. The sentence is to be served in a closed regime. The court also ordered him to pay her compensation equivalent to 60 minimum wages and kept him in pretrial detention, citing a risk to public order.
Braga told g1 that the abuse began when she was 12 and lasted for almost four years. According to the allegations, the assaults took place between 2006 and 2009, and she became pregnant by her father. She also reported physical and psychological abuse and said he tried to force her to have an abortion.
Judge Luis Gustavo Vasques of the VI Domestic and Family Violence Court for Women in the Leopoldina region said DNA evidence was central to the case. The test indicated that the probability of a genetic link between the defendant and Braga’s daughter was about 281,000 times higher than the probability that the sample belonged to another person. The judge also said Braga’s consistent account was supported by the other evidence.
In court, the defendant said he had used drugs, denied the allegations and said he could not remember having sex with his daughter. A defense witness said they had never noticed unusual behavior. The ruling can be appealed.
Braga’s case was followed by the Empoderadas Program, which offers women access to legal and psychological support. The report said the program had faced payment suspensions since the middle of the year, leaving more than 200 workers and professionals, including Braga, with months of unpaid wages. Braga has since worked independently and as a freelancer.
Sources: G1.