The National Justice Oversight Board ordered the Minas Gerais Court of Justice and Judge Magid Nauef Láuar to provide explanations within five days regarding the decision acquitting a 35-year-old man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in 2024. The acquittal, issued by the TJMG's 9th Specialized Criminal Chamber, sparked negative backlash and criticism from politicians and experts. The Minas Gerais Prosecutor's Office plans to appeal the ruling.
On February 11, 2026, the 9th Specialized Criminal Chamber of the Minas Gerais Court of Justice (TJMG) acquitted, by majority vote, a 35-year-old man accused of vulnerable rape for having sexual relations with a 12-year-old girl in 2024. The defendant and the victim lived maritally and had a daughter. In the first instance, he had been sentenced to nine years and four months in closed regime, and the girl's mother was responding at liberty for alleged complicity.
The rapporteur, Judge Magid Nauef Láuar, argued that although the conduct formally fit the crime of vulnerable rape — defined by law as a libidinous act with a minor under 14, punishable by 8 to 15 years in prison, regardless of consent — there was no material typicality in the circumstances. He applied the 'distinguishing' technique to set aside Superior Court of Justice (STJ) jurisprudence, which classifies such unions as violence. In his vote, Láuar described the parties as 'two young lovers' and highlighted the consolidation of an 'affective and family bond' with family support, without coercion or exploitation. 'The absolute presumption of violence can be set aside exceptionally when it is proven that the relationship was consensual, stable, with family support, and resulted in the formation of a family nucleus,' stated the thesis adopted by the court.
Judge Walner Barbosa Milward de Azevedo joined the vote, forming the majority. In dissent, Judge Kárin Emmerich criticized the grounds as reproducing 'a typically patriarchal and sexist pattern of behavior,' emphasizing that minors under 14 deserve absolute protection and that Brazilian criminal policy does not tolerate premature sexual initiation by adults.
The decision sparked strong reactions on social media on February 20, 2026. Federal Deputy Erika Hilton (PSol-SP) and the Ministry of Women approached the National Justice Council (CNJ). On the 21st, the national overseer, Minister Mauro Campbell Marques, opened a confidential procedure and summoned the TJMG and Láuar for information within five days, stating that the news 'indicates the occurrence of facts that must be duly clarified'.
The TJMG stated that the judge cannot comment due to judicial secrecy and the pending appeal. In the records, the victim reported prior involvements with older adults, confirmed by her mother, and described the defendant as 'husband,' with family support. Luciana Temer, from the Liberta Institute, highlighted that the law adopts an objective criterion to protect vulnerables, without subjective relativizations.
The Minas Gerais Prosecutor's Office plans to appeal.
