São Paulo Appeals Court Overturns 2015 Rape Conviction of Ex-BBB Felipe Prior

Overview

• The 14th Criminal Chamber of the São Paulo court acquitted Prior on December 5 in the Votuporanga case, reversing a first-instance sentence of six years.
• The proceedings remain under judicial secrecy, and the accuser’s lawyers said they will appeal after calling the ruling disappointing.
• Prior has consistently said the encounter was consensual, and his defense praised the decision as adherence to legal principles.
• The prosecution’s complaint described a 2015 trip to Votuporanga in which it alleged nonconsensual sex later interrupted by a friend, while Prior denied using force.
• Across four cases from 2014 to 2018, two have ended in acquittal, one 2014 conviction was upheld on appeal and is now before the STJ, and one case is still awaiting judgment.