BELO HORIZONTE (BRAZIL)
Canadian Lawyer [Toronto, Ontario, Canada]
January 8, 2026
By Jacqueline So
Bernardino Batista dos Santos had been a kindergarten director in Belo Horizonte
A court in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais has sentenced ex-Catholic priest Bernardino Batista dos Santos to 24 years and 9 months in jail after it convicted him of raping an underage person, reported the Associated Press.
The court also ordered dos Santos to pay damages amounting to 30,000 Brazilian reais (US$5,570) in its judgment, which was published this week. The complaints against the former priest had dated back to 1975.
According to Minas Gerais state police investigation details accessed by AP, the victim’s family alleged that the rape happened during a weekend at dos Santos’ farm in Tiros. He was a kindergarten director in Belo Horizonte then.
dos Santos was taken into custody in October 2024 and was placed under house arrest with electronic ankle monitoring, Minas Gerais authorities said. He had already been removed from his post in Contagem by the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte in 2021 after decades of complaints.
He was convicted over one 2016 case following the amendment of Brazil’s statutes of limitation laws in relation to similar matters.
dos Santos’ lawyer Leonardo Diniz stated his surprise over and intent to appeal the Minas Gerais court’s ruling. By contrast, lawyer Ana Carolina Oliveira said in a statement published by AP News that the decision “recognizes the seriousness of the actions committed, the particular vulnerability of the underage victim, and the profound impact of the violations.”
Oliveira, who represents over 60 people who have lodged rape allegations against dos Santos, added that social, institutional, or religious positions could not “serve as a shield for impunity” in such crimes.
While the case was and remains sealed, AP gained access to a document regarding the case on Thursday.
Last November, the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador rejected a man’s attempt to pursue claims against the province over his alleged sexual assault by a now-deceased priest through a summary trial.