Story of Child Abuse Shocks Brazil
Parts of child's tongue cut out when police found her.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, March 20 2008— -- It's a story that has sent shock waves across Brazil: A 12-year-old was rescued by Brazilian police in the central state of Goiania with severe signs of abuse all over her body. A 49-year-old businesswoman, Silvia Calabrese, has since been charged with torturing the child.
A maid working for Calabrese was also arrested in connection with the crime but denies any involvement. Child protection authorities, however, told the Brazilian press that "the child confirmed to us that she was also abused by her."
Already two other girls have come forward, accusing Calabrese of subjecting them to systematic torture while under her care. One was only 5 years old at the time, the other 15.
The details the 12-year-old girl has offered are spine-chilling: being strangled, having parts of her tongue cut off while being pulled with different tools, at one point being forced to eat dog feces.
Globo TV showed blurred images of the girl chained to the wall and signs of torture on her body, including her wounded tongue.
The girl in question had been living with Calabrese for two years. Her impoverished mother had sent her to live with the businesswoman in the hope that her daughter would be properly looked after and gain access to an education. In return, the girl would help with domestic chores.
But the girl stopped attending school a year ago. O Globo newspaper reported that when she had been attending, her teachers noticed she often appeared battered and bruised.
Such stories of domestic abuse of minors are not uncommon in Brazil. Many families who are too poor to care for their sons and daughters leave them in the care of wealthier households, hoping for better opportunities for the children.
That result is not always the case. Many of these children often become virtual slaves.
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