In the countryside of Pará, father uses 9-year-old daughter as ‘payment’ for drugs

Priscilla Peixoto – from Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – A man identified as Thiago Souza da Cruz was arrested after exchanging his 9-year-old daughter for drugs at a drug sales point, popularly known as “boca de fumo” (drug den) in Igarapé-Açú, a municipality in the northeast of the state of Pará. The child was “pawned” for the sum of R$ 100, according to the website O Liberal.

The case happened in December 2022 and, according to information published by the local newspaper, the situation was denounced to the Guardianship Council of the municipality, which called the Civil Police. According to reports from the complainant, the girl was left at the drug point located in the Águas Limpas neighbourhood.

In the same article published by Liberal, the Council of Guardianship of Igarapé-Açu claimed that the child was the “victim of libidinous acts”. In a statement released by the Civil Police of the region, Thiago was arrested for the crime of promoting sexual exploitation of a vulnerable person. The case will be conducted in secret.

Read also: Operation Nero: ‘All who committed crimes will be held responsible’, guarantees PF

“The case occurred on December 9. Investigations pointed out that the individual had left a 9-year-old child at a drug sales point in exchange for money. The investigation opened to investigate the case is under secrecy in order to gather information about what happened and identify other people involved in the crime”, the statement said.

CENARIUM MAGAZINE asked the Civil Police of Pará for more details about the case, and is awaiting a reply.

Read also: Crime or madness: Bolsonaro continues ‘dispatching’ on the internet as president

Denunciation and combat

Until September 2021, the Federal Police (PF) served at least six search and seizure warrants, with the “Operation Caipora”, in Pará, to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation. The action began in the Center for Repression of Hate Crimes and Child Pornography of the Federal Police (Nurcop), in Brasilia (DF), and soon after was conducted and operated by the Group for Repression of Cyber Crimes (GRCC), the Superintendence of the Federal Police in the state of Pará.

At the time, the searches and seizures took place in the cities of Ananindeua, Belém, Baião, Moju and Vigia. There was also the rescue of four vulnerable victims of child sexual abuse.

Complaints about violence (sexual, physical, psychological and moral), child prostitution, abandonment of children and adolescents, among other violations, can be reported to the Guardianship Council, at police stations specialized in care and protection of children and adolescents in each city. The numbers, Disque 100 (national) or 181 (state), are also an option for those who wish to report anonymously.