Thiago Brennand acquitted by São Paulo court in rape case

The 2nd Chamber of Criminal Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJSP) has acquitted businessman Thiago Brennand in a second criminal proceeding, overturning a prior first‑instance conviction that imposed eight years’ imprisonment and a R$ 200,000 moral‑damage award. The defence argued that the sexual acts alleged to have occurred in December 2022 were consensual and that the victim, a medical student, was capable of consenting. Prosecutors had claimed Brennand took the woman to a hotel while she was intoxicated, forced sexual acts through the night and the following day, and that an armed driver or security guard was present at the door, with the encounter allegedly recorded without consent. The court ruled that the evidence did not support the rape charge and cleared Brennand of the accusation. The case proceeds in secrecy, and the court’s statement noted that Brennand remains incarcerated under a closed‑regime sentence for other convictions. His lawyers were identified as Alberto Toron and Luiza Oliver.