Ex-Niterói Municipal Worker Arrested on Preventive Order in Alleged Exploitation of Trans Women

Overview

• Rio de Janeiro’s I Criminal Court in Niterói issued a preventive arrest warrant on February 10 under Criminal Procedure Code articles 312 and 282, and João Vitor Nascimento da Cruz was detained the same day.
• Police say Cruz, 44, was exonerated from a city post on January 23 after complaints that he operated as a pimp in central Niterói.
• Cruz has been indicted on extortion, qualified rufianism and submitting a child or adolescent to sexual exploitation, with potential combined penalties exceeding 28 years.
• Victims report weekly cash demands of R$120–R$150, sometimes up to R$500, enforced with threats, a firearm, assaults including alleged strangulation, and coerced unpaid sex; one account involves a 15-year-old.
• Investigators identified an alleged accomplice, Hilary Oliveira Batista (known as Patrícia), after a formal complaint by councilwoman Benny Briolly, who is pressing for psychological and financial support for victims.