Brazil proposes harsher penalties for criminals impersonating pastors

Federal Deputy Roberto Monteiro Pai (PL-RJ) has introduced Bill 3128/26 in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, which proposes increasing penalties for criminals who impersonate religious pastors to commit offenses.

The bill does not create a new crime but seeks to amend the Penal Code to include the use of a false religious identity as an aggravating circumstance. This would place such actions alongside existing factors that increase sentences, such as crimes committed through betrayal or against vulnerable groups like children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

Monteiro Pai described the act of posing as a pastor to facilitate crimes as a “particularly sordid attitude” that abuses societal trust and undermines the credibility of religious institutions. The proposal must now undergo review by the Commission on Constitution, Justice, and Citizenship (CCJ) before proceeding to a plenary vote. For the bill to become law, it requires approval from both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, followed by presidential sanction.