A 46-year-old man is appearing in court today, charged with sexually abusing the twin-daughters who found him two years ago and were entrusted into his care.
“Ana and Maria”, then aged 15, had been living in an institution all their lives, writes Jornal de Notícias.
Abandoned by their mother, they “dreamed of finding their father”, said the paper, and “with the help of relatives” and DNA testing managed to do this in 2014.
According to reports, the girls and their father all decided to live together “with the blessing of the court” that had to become involved.
But the girls’ dream rapidly unravelled, says JN.
“Within months” their father had lost his job and “took advantage of his hours alone with the girls to practice sexual acts”.
The girls suffered in silence, explains JN, until an anonymous complaint was filed via Algarve Denuncia “a few days ago”.
At first, the youngsters, now 17, did not want to admit their abuser was their own father, writes JN, but “they ended up confessing to Portimão PJ inspectors, who arrested the man on Wednesday”.
The father is reported to have denied his daughters’ stories, but JN claims that “medical tests undertaken by Portimão’s office of legal medicine reveal strong indications of sexual abuse”.
A statement from the town’s PJ claims the father “took advantage of his family connection with the victims to force them into practising sexual acts with him”.
Charged with the crime of “sexual abuse of dependent minors”, the father could face a prison term of up to eight years, writes JN.
His own partner is believed to have had no knowledge of the alleged abuse, while the man is now said to be working in an old people’s home.
He is due to be presented to court today to hear bail conditions as the police investigation continues.
No mention has been made however of where the twins are now be living.
