Fourteen years in prison for a man who abused his stepdaughter 142 times and got her pregnant as a result.

The Supreme Court (STJ) has upheld a 14-year prison sentence for a man who sexually assaulted his partner’s daughter 142 times, one of which resulted in the pregnancy of the child, who was then 13 years old.

By the decision of September 27, rendered this Monday with Lusa, the STJ confirms the punishment that was applied primarily in the District of Braga, thereby rejecting the appeal filed by the defendant.

The defendant is also prohibited from assuming the trust of a minor and having parental responsibilities for 15 years.

He will also have to pay the victim compensation in the amount of 60 thousand euros to compensate for the moral damage caused by his actions.

The abuse began in September 2019, when the victim was 11 years old, and continued until November 2021, according to the court.

The accused took advantage of occasions when he was alone at home with his partner’s daughter to commit violence.

In December 2021, the minor was diagnosed with pregnancy, which is subsequently subject to voluntary medical termination of pregnancy.

The court emphasizes the defendant’s “strong, persistent, and repeated intent” but notes that his method of execution “reveals a moderate degree of illegality.”

“In fact, it was, in essence, the so-called vestibular copulation (or simulation of coitus), which has a less intrusive and cruel effect on the child’s body. There are only two known cases in which the accused touched the breasts with his hands and mouth at the opening of the girl’s vagina. Only in one case was complete copulation with penetration of the penis into the vagina established,” the resolution says.

It also states that the defendant’s actions “occur in an environment clearly devoid of physical or verbal threats and/or embarrassment before and after the actions, that is, without coercion, threats and/or injury and/or humiliation by gestures or words.” , and without obvious dynamics of manipulation or secrecy.”

“However, without a doubt, this takes place under the roof of the family home, a place where the child should be able to feel completely safe and secure, and not be left out and unprotected,” he adds.

It also highlights the “long string” of abuses and, above all, their frequency (four times between September 2019 and May 2020, almost every day between December 2020 and July 2021, and once a week between from September to November 2021), interrupted only by external circumstances,” namely the separation of the couple.

“The defendant wanted and managed to satisfy his sexual desires, forcing for this purpose a minor to perform the above-mentioned acts of a sexual nature, despite the fact that he knew her age, knew that he had a father-daughter relationship with her, knew that he had insulted her sexually self-determination and her sense of modesty and shame, knew that the girl was still in physical and psychological formation and knew that the actions she committed jeopardized the holistic and harmonious development of her personality,” we also read in the verdict.

In favor of the defendant, the court points to the lack of a criminal record, partial admission of the facts and “regret and remorse that he revealed at the trial.”

“In this part, it is known that it is the person who shows signs of altruism and good feelings, which will ultimately be caused by the awareness of the suffering of the child,” the judges say.