The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), published this Monday (12/22) a decree in which he imposes the penalty of dismissal on the reserve lieutenant colonel of the Military Police (PM) Marcelo Ricardo Silva, aged 52, and determines the revocation of the officer’s retirement, whose gross value is R$ 25,972.17, according to the Government Transparency Portal.
Tarcísio’s decision follows the conviction of Marcelo Ricardo Silva (featured photo) for pedophilia before the Military Justice Tribunal (TJM) of São Paulo. The Prime Minister’s disciplinary regulations provide for the dismissal of company members found guilty by a court of conduct considered morally or professionally incompatible with public service.
Searched by MetropolisesSilva’s defense said it would appeal the administrative decision. “He is a sick person. At the time of the facts, he was absent for psychiatric treatment,” said lawyer Derly Silveira de Araújo.
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Marcelo Ricardo Silva was fired as Prime Minister after being convicted by a court of pedophilia.
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The officer received a gross pension of almost R$26,000, according to the Transparency Portal.
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The decision signed by Tarcísio de Freitas also determined the revocation of retirement.
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Seized computer equipment stored child pornography, according to the expert.
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Weapon seized during an operation in which child pornography content was identified
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Search, seizure and arrest in Bauru
According to the administrative procedure that supported the dismissal, the Prime Minister’s lieutenant was the target of a search and seizure warrant on October 17, 2021, at his residence, in Bauru, interior of São Paulo. The measure was issued by the 2nd Criminal Court of Bauru, after an investigation by the Civil Police which identified the access and storage of child pornography content linked to the address of the Prime Minister.
During the execution of the warrant, civil police officers and experts seized a laptop belonging to the military police themselves, three mobile phones and eight external hard drives. The investigation revealed the existence of “abundant digital content of child pornography, videos and photographs,” leading to Silva’s indictment arrest the same day.
Federal investigation
The matter has also begun to be heard in the Federal Court. According to court documents, the items found in the equipment led to the initiation of proceedings for offenses under the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA), which deal with the production, possession and storage of child pornography.
The investigation arose from investigations carried out by a police intelligence unit which monitors equipment connected to the Internet, associated with the search for this type of content on the web, including in so-called “deep web” environments, not indexed by search engines. From this data, the Prime Minister’s lieutenant was identified, leading to the judicial request for search and seizure.
Compulsion and psychiatric treatment
During his interrogation as part of the TJM Justification Council, Marcelo Ricardo Silva stated that at the time he was absent from the service due to psychiatric problems, diagnosed with major depressive disorder, and that he had developed a “compulsion to download files indiscriminately” from the Internet.
According to his version, he would have carried out massive downloads of films, series and pornographic content without even consulting the files, and that the illegal material would have been downloaded “unintentionally”.
“I downloaded files indiscriminately. Most of them didn’t even see them. Illegal material must have ended up with it, without my wanting it,” Silva said in his statement.
The defense also argued that the lieutenant never had contact with minors, did not use chat applications for this purpose and never shared the stored files.
Expertise rejected imputability
The defensive arguments were analyzed during an insanity examination, established during the administrative procedure. The expert report concluded, however, that, despite the diagnosis of depression, the disorder had no causal link with the conduct investigated and did not compromise the police officer’s capacity for understanding and self-determination at the time of the incident.
“Although he was suffering from a mental disorder at the time, his symptoms have no causal link with the facts alleged by the expert witness (PM), recorded the experts. In an objective response to questions, they said Silva was fully capable of understanding the wrongfulness of his actions.
The Justification Council deemed the report “clear and conclusive” and rejected the defense’s request for additional expertise.
The defense speaks of “preparation”
At Metropolisesthe defense questioned the speed with which the police officer’s mental health examination was conducted during the administrative procedure. According to lawyer Derly Silveira de Araújo, the report was hastily written and does not adequately reflect the real mental state of the lieutenant at the time.
He contends that Marcelo Ricardo da Silva was absent from the company, that he was using controlled medications and that he suffered from serious psychiatric problems that, according to the defense’s assessment, would require further investigation before a conclusion on his attribution could be reached.
For the lawyer, there was an error which will be the subject of an appeal. “This is a patient who was undergoing psychiatric treatment. He accessed prohibited websites, but there was no contact with children, there was no rape, there was no violence,” he said.
Derly also claims the case has not become final and criticizes what he calls pretrial judgment in cases involving sex crimes. “When the word ‘child’ appears, there is an automatic condemnation. But his case is not emblematic in this sense and must be treated with the greatest attention,” he said.
Behavior considered incompatible with the uniform
At the end of the analysis of the case, the Justification Council understood that it was proven that the officer kept child pornography material, which, according to the advisors, constitutes a serious disciplinary offense and incompatible with the ethical principles required of a military police officer.
The other charge examined in the procedure, that of illegal possession of a firearm, ended up being dropped, due to lack of proven irregularity.
In the opinion that served as the basis for the final decision, the State Attorney General’s Office said the conduct attributed to Marcelo Ricardo Silva was “dishonorable” and violated the prime minister himself, the state and fundamental human rights. This is why he recommends the application of the most severe penalties provided for by law (loss of position and certificate, followed by dismissal).
With the publication of the act in the Official Journal, the now former lieutenant-colonel definitively loses his link with the corporation and no longer benefits from the pension paid by the Military Police. The defense indicated that it still intends to appeal the decision to the appropriate judicial and administrative authorities.
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