A local Portuguese resident was sentenced to five years and six months behind bars yesterday for sexually abusing his two children, a two-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy, according to the sentence announced by the Court of First Instance (TJB) yesterday.
According to the three-judge bench, Joao Tiago Martins was also sentenced to pay 200,000 patacas to each child.
The defendant’s lawyer, Joao Miguel Barros, told Portuguese media that he was determined to appeal. He said he was convinced of his client’s innocence and complained that the sentence was merely based on testimony by the two children. The judges, however, ruled that the children’s testimony was credible and that they had not been influenced by their mother when testifying against their father.
