An assistant early childhood educator in Florianópolis, Brazil, has been taken into custody after multiple children alleged that he sexually abused them. Allec Sander de Oliveira Ribeiro, 34, worked at the Nossa Senhora de Lourdes Center for Municipal Childhood Education and was known for his vocal support of progressive causes.
On July 1, the Civil Police of Santa Catarina arrested Ribeiro following a month-long investigation into reports of sexual abuse at a local daycare. The probe began in June, after several parents reported that their children had disclosed abuse. According to the parents, the children had exhibited troubling behavioral changes in the lead-up to their disclosures. Authorities notified the Municipal Secretariat of Education, which suspended Ribeiro from his position on June 5.
Police subsequently raided Ribeiro’s home and searched his electronic devices, uncovering more than 6,000 files containing child sexual abuse material. Investigators say many of the files appear to have been produced by Ribeiro himself. Some of the victims were identified as Ribeiro’s students, and there was material that had been recorded on the daycare premises. Officers also discovered three additional hard drives concealed in his home; the total number of illicit files is now estimated to exceed 10,000.
According to Jornal Razão, several of Ribeiro’s students have been formally named as victims, the oldest being just six years old. All known victims are male. The abuse is believed to have occurred during the head teacher’s lunch break, when Ribeiro had unsupervised access to the classroom and children.
SSince the announcement of Ribeiro’s arrest, additional parents have come forward with suspicions that their children may also have been victims.
One mother, who spoke with Clic Espumoso, said her son, who is autistic, attended Nossa Senhora de Lourdes from the age of one and remained there for four years. After being placed in Ribeiro’s class, however, the child’s behavior changed dramatically. He began routinely exposing himself, imitating inappropriate gestures, and avoiding physical contact with adults – especially men.
“He didn’t want to enter that classroom anymore. He said he didn’t want to go to daycare. It started happening more and more often,” the mother told Clic Espumoso. She raised her concerns with the head teacher overseeing Ribeiro’s class, who reportedly shared similar suspicions and took steps to reduce the time Ribeiro spent alone with the children.
“I’m not sure if he photographed my son. But I think he did. And if he did that… let him pay. Because my son didn’t deserve this. No child does,” she added, noting that police are currently investigating whether her son appears in any of the abusive material found on Ribeiro’s devices.
Investigators have also uncovered messages on Ribeiro’s devices indicating that he anticipated eventual complaints from children and sought to preemptively dismiss them as a “mania.”
Jornal Razão reports that Ribeiro was known as a supporter of progressive causes, and displayed both the LGBT and trans pride flags on his social media accounts, where he also frequently posted popular cartoon characters and references to youth media. Journalist Lorran Barentin described this as a “possible strategy to mask criminal conduct.”
Ribiero’s progressive public persona helped him cultivate trust with parents, one of whom noted: “The hardest part is that he was close to everyone. He used the right words, said the right things, and no one suspected him. But now the mask has fallen off.”
Ribeiro is currently in pre-trial detention, and is facing multiple charges related to the production of child pornography and the abuse of the vulnerable. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
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