Court archives investigation against Paulo Roberto Falcão for sexual harassment – 10/20/2023 – Sports

The investigation against former player Paulo Roberto Falcão, 69, for alleged sexual harassment, was closed by the courts.

On August 4, the Santos Civil Police began an investigation, after receiving a complaint of sexual harassment against the former athlete, who worked as Santos’ football coordinator at the time. He then resigned from his position, in which he had held since November 2022, and denied having committed the crime.

“The police investigation was closed after a statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, following a statement from the police authority, requesting that it be closed because it did not foresee the occurrence of a crime of sexual harassment”, informed the TJSP (Court of Justice of São Paulo). The decision to archive was made by judge Leonardo de Mello Gonçalves, from the 2nd Criminal Court of Santos.

In testimony to Sheet Shortly after the complaint, the author, who asked not to have her name published, stated that the former player passed his sexual organ over her arm. The incident would have occurred in the building where Falcão lived when he held the position of coordinator at Santos.

According to the judge’s decision, “not all physical contact can be interpreted as a libidinous act.”

In the MP’s understanding, the author of the complaint did not lie and may have, in fact, felt harassed by the former player, even though the action did not meet the requirements to be interpreted as sexual harassment.

The plaintiff’s lawyers said they received the news of the filing of the case with surprise.

“The news of the case being closed is deeply worrying and sheds light on the complexities and challenges that victims of sexual harassment often face when seeking justice”, says the note released by lawyers Pâmela Mendes and Pedro Grobman, who worked in the complainant’s defense. . They further say the decision to dismiss the case leaves doubts about the effectiveness of existing measures to address sexual import crimes and protect victims.

The crime of sexual harassment is punishable by one to five years in prison. Typified in 2018, it is defined as the practice of a libidinous act against someone without that person’s consent, with the aim of satisfying one’s own desire or that of a third party.

One of the greatest players of his generation, Falcão was part of the Brazilian team at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. Three-time Brazilian champion with Internacional (1975, 1976 and 1979), he was nicknamed the King of Rome, for leading Roma to the Italian title in 1982.