Pastors accused of murdering their niece in AC have their sentences upheld by the courts

Summary
The Acre court upheld the sentence of 5 years and 4 months in prison against a couple of pastors found guilty of the death of their niece Yasmin de Almeida Santos, aged 2, in 2015, victim of abuse and multiple trauma.

Sentenced in March this year for the death of little Yasmin de Almeida Santos, in 2015, then aged 2 years and 9 months, the couple of pastors Tanes José Antônio Lima de Almeida and Elione Sampaio Jerônimo saw a sentence of 5 years and four months in prison maintained by the Acre court.

The defendants’ defense filed a request to replace the custodial sentence with a restriction of rights, but this request was rejected. Yasmin de Almeida lived with her uncles, three brothers and six cousins ​​​​in the Jardim Tropical neighborhood, in Rio Branco, and was the victim of mistreatment by her uncles, according to the Court.

“It is incompatible to replace the custodial sentence with restrictions on rights, given the seriousness of the offense, which involved violence against a child and which led to death,” indicates an extract from the TJ-AC decision.

The couple denies the crime. The pastors claim that in reality Yasmin died following a fall and attacks by her older brother, then aged 10.

Yasmin was born in February 2013, into a fragile family environment: her mother, who already had three other children, lived with a partner on the run from justice. Due to the mother’s chemical dependence and the lack of conditions for caring for the minors, the court ordered the four children to be institutionalized in 2014.

After a stay at the Educandário Santa Margarida, the older brothers were handed over to the pastors. In November 2015, permanent custody of the entire family group was granted to Tanes José Antônio Lima de Almeida and Elione Sampaio Jerônimo.

The lawsuit notes that Yasmin’s older brother said he suffered attacks from the couple and their children, who were 10, 12, 16, 18 and 21 at the time.

On the day of death, the pastors took Yasmin to the Emergency Care Unit (UPA) of the 2nd District of Rio Branco. According to the doctors’ report, the girl arrived dead and had traces of ill-treatment on her body.

The expert noted traces of violence on the victim’s arms, back, face and neck. The cause of death was concluded to be multiple trauma caused by blunt force.