Futsal coach is accused of harassment against teenage athletes

by

The Public Ministry of Santa Catarina denounced a futsal coach on charges of sexual harassment and harassment against athletes coached by him. According to the Civil Police investigations, the victims were minors.

The accusation was formalized by the 7th Public Prosecutor’s Office of São José, a municipality neighboring Florianópolis, where the crime would have taken place. The case was revealed by Esporte Espetacular, on TV Globo.

Reginaldo Valdir Vieira, 31, was coach and manager of the Sanrosé team. According to the police, he lived next to a house that housed part of the team’s athletes – the crime would have taken place there.

In September of last year, the Civil Police of Santa Catarina received an anonymous tip that said that Reginaldo was harassing some teenagers on the team.

Sought by message and call, Reginaldo Vieira’s lawyer did not respond to the report. The suspect also did not return contact made by email.

The Police Department for the Protection of Children, Adolescents, Women and the Elderly of São José was in charge of the investigations. Testimonies were taken from two victims and 11 other witnesses who were athletes and who frequented the house.

According to delegate Marcela França Goto, responsible for the investigation, the teenagers ended up lovingly getting involved with the coach, until they realized that the feeling was not true and that he was taking advantage of the situation to harass them.

“He would rub his breasts, his private parts, his legs. He would make inappropriate comments. This happened with the girls in the house, especially because they lived there, a little helpless, far from their families”, he says.

Two other victims identified by colleagues during the investigation did not want to go to the police station to testify. This Monday (4), after the disclosure of the case in the press, another teenager sought out the police to report that she was also harassed by Reginaldo.

According to the delegate, the technician tried to discourage victims from reporting the crime. “He said ‘nobody will believe you, you have nobody to help you, you have no family’.”

The investigation was completed in May and Reginaldo was indicted for harassment and sexual harassment, crimes provided for in articles 215 and 216 of the Penal Code.

Sexual harassment occurs when the criminal practices against someone, without his consent, “a lewd act with the aim of satisfying his own lust or that of a third party”. The penalty ranges from 1 to 5 years in prison.

Harassment, on the other hand, is described in the law as the embarrassment of someone “in order to obtain a sexual advantage or favor, the agent taking precedence over his/her condition of hierarchical superior or ancestry inherent to the exercise of a job, position or function”.

The penalty ranges from 1 to 2 years in prison and is increased by one third if the victim is under 18 years of age.

In June, after the investigation was completed, the Public Ministry filed a complaint against the suspect. In a statement, the agency stated that it cannot provide details about the process because the case is under judicial secrecy.

You May Also Like

Recommended for you