Afonso Dias – a lorry driver accused of kidnapping Rui Pedro, a boy who went missing from Lousada in 1998 – has seen his three-year-and-six month prison sentence confirmed by Portugal’s Supreme Court.
He had already been sentenced to jail time by Porto’s Court of Appeal, but Dias’ lawyer had made an appeal against the decision in July.
For Ricardo Sá Fernandes, lawyer for Rui Pedro’s family, it is not Dias’ conviction that is most important, but finding out exactly what happened to the boy.
“And that is what we are still trying to find out,” he added. No word has come yet from Afonso Dias’ representatives.
Last year, when Afonso Dias was first sentenced to jail, his lawyer had said that Dias was “in shock” and “could not believe” what had happened.
The first court verdict declared him innocent due to lack of evidence.
But after the boy’s family’s appeal, the lorry driver was found guilty due to a statement from prostitute Alcina Dias who guaranteed Dias had tried to pay her to have sex with the boy.
Rui Pedro, who was 11-years-old at the time, was last seen on March 4, 1998 in the company of Afonso Dias.
