Stepdad who bit off five-year-old's genitals jailed as mum loses parental rights

A stepdad who bit off a five-year-old boy's genitals has been for over 13 years while the boy's mum has also been jailed and stripped of her parental rights.

The , named as Joao Levi, was attacked on December 6, 2023, in Canindé, in the Brazilian state of Ceará, and was admitted to the Hospital Instituto Doutor José Frota in Fortaleza on the same day. were able to reattach the boy's genitals but the child now faces a lengthy rehabilitation process, with his family raising funds to pay for it.

Local media reports say that so far they have raised BRL 200,000 (£27,100) so far. Now the , named as 26-year-old Jose Ivanilson Ferreira Silva, has been jailed for 13 years and four months without the right to appeal.

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The boy's mother, named as Sabrina Duarte de Castro, has been jailed for nine years and four months and has been stripped of her parental rights. She was accused of covering up the crime and reportedly gave doctors three different versions of what had happened

Both defendants were convicted of causing serious bodily harm, aggravated by the victim's young age, on October 30. The sentences were handed down by Judge Rhaila Carvalho Said, of the Single Criminal Court of Canindé.

Prosecutor Jairo Pequeno Neto, who filed the charges on behalf of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Ceara (MPCE), stated that this "was a case of extreme violence, committed by people who should have provided protection for a defenceless child." He added: "The MP's complaint was accepted and the courts responded to society by holding the defendants accountable for the crimes committed."

During the investigation, it was found that the boy had several scars on his body, indicating that he had also sustained injuries to his neck, face, legs, thighs, and chest. The horrific case made headlines in at the time and now the young victim, who now lives with his biological father, faces a gruelling rehabilitation process.