Educator accused of assault and racist insults against autistic young person in Braga
The Guimarães Court of Appeal reversed a decision by an investigating judge and ordered that an autistic young person, victim of mistreatment, give evidence for the record.
Court of Appeal orders autistic young person to testify in educator mistreatment case
The Guimarães Court of Appeal decided, in a ruling dated 2 July, that an 18-year-old autistic young person should give evidence for the record in a case involving alleged assaults and racist insults by an educator at the institution where he lives. The decision reverses the position of the investigating judge in Braga, who had refused to hear the young person, as reported by Correio da Manhã.
The case dates back to 6 June last year. According to the case file, the young person kicked the educator after the latter refused to allow him an overnight outing. In response, the accused "grabbed his right hand fingers and struck him with a closed fist, hitting him in the mouth and nose area, causing him to bang his head against the wall". The educator is charged with a crime of mistreatment.
Investigating judge had refused to hear the victim
The investigating judge in Braga justified the refusal with three arguments: not identifying evidence of the alleged mistreatment crime; considering that the young person could himself be the perpetrator of a crime of qualified assault on physical integrity, having kicked the educator; and the fact that the parents of the minor had reported that the young person had "made positive progress at the care home" and did not wish criminal proceedings.
The judges at the Court of Appeal rejected this position and upheld the arguments of the Public Prosecution Service. The young person, institutionalised since 2022 as part of a child protection process, is classified as "an especially vulnerable victim" due to suffering from autism spectrum disorder, although in mild form — "a condition that affects communication, behaviour and interaction".
Racist and homophobic insults recorded in case file
The Court of Appeal ruling also gives weight to reports of previous incidents. The accused is said to have used expressions such as "you're really a faggot", "black people are not human" and "you should already be dead". The director of the institution where the young person lives himself confirmed that the educator "was reprimanded several times for using this type of language with the young people".
Risk of outside interference concerns court
The Public Prosecution Service stressed the importance of safeguarding "not only the genuine nature of the testimony, but also preventing re-victimisation", protecting the young person from being "forced to relive the trauma and suffering of the physical and psychological assaults of which he was a victim". The court also warned of "a pronounced probability that he could be subject to external interference or pressure, particularly from the accused".
The judges emphasised that this was "a minor who will tend to forget what he experienced and who continues to live in the Care Home where the educator who allegedly assaulted him works and, therefore, under his influence". The taking of evidence for the record is aimed precisely at preserving the testimony before that influence or the passage of time compromise its reliability.
Source: Correio da Manhã