Former Brazilian pastor denies pedophilia crimes on trial in France

At least eight people filed a complaint with the French court, reporting that they had been attacked by him over the last 20 years. Among them is Camilla Araújo de Souza, niece of Edi Maikel. “These are moments of great apprehension, but we are confident that everything will work out. The important thing is that we are all here together, rooting for our victory”, she said this morning, on RFI.

Camilla says she started being abused in 2002, when she was still a child. After reporting the case to the French court, she revealed details of the abuse: “My mother surprised us, he was trying to rub his penis on my butt”, she reported. “He’s my uncle, my mother’s brother. After that, my parents separated. We lived with my grandmother and then with my aunt. When we were at my grandmother’s house, he tried again,” he adds.

The harassment continued after Camilla moved to France, where, according to her, “penetrative sexual relations began to occur.” At the time, Camilla was between 12 and 13 years old. “What angers me most is that he says he is a Christian, that he believes in God, but he doesn’t admit what he did. So, he is not sorry,” he lamented.

Accused denies allegations

This afternoon, in front of the judge presiding over the session, Edi Maikel dos Santos Silva once again denied any involvement with Camilla. “He says nothing ever happened. He claims that I started to fall in love with him and, to avoid problems, he left for Brazil. But that’s a lie”, continues Camilla. “In fact, he went to Brazil because, when I went to report him to the police, my grandmother bought a ticket and sent him there, afraid that he would be arrested”, he says.

Now an adult and mother of two children, Camilla appeared at the Annecy Palace of Justice accompanied by her father, João Maria, who traveled from French Guiana – an overseas region of France. “We are here together,” the victim’s father told RFI. Camilla’s grandmother, Edi Maikel’s mother, Noêmia Rodrigues Barbosa, was summoned to testify this afternoon at the Annecy court. However, he did not attend and presented a medical certificate justifying his absence.