The Fifth Panel of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) decided this Tuesday (9) to maintain the acquittal of an 18-year-old man who was accused of rape against a 13-year-old teenager. Unanimously, the ministers understood that the man currently forms “a family nucleus” with the victim and decided to maintain the first and second instance decisions that also acquitted the accused. The appeal was filed with the STJ by the Public Ministry of Paraná.  Related news: STJ denies habeas corpus to influencer Deolane Bezerra. STJ schedules testimony from women who accuse Minister Buzzi of harassment. Zanin decides that the STF will judge the case of selling sentences at the STJ. The process is under judicial secrecy, and the details of the crime have not been disclosed.  According to the Penal Code, rape of a vulnerable person is characterized by the practice of sexual intercourse or other libidinous act with a minor under 14 years of age. The penalty varies between eight and 15 years in prison. Votes  The unanimous score was obtained based on the vote of the rapporteur, minister Messod Azulay Neto. The minister said that Topic 918 of the STJ established that the victim's consent, any previous sexual experience or romantic relationship with the aggressor do not rule out the occurrence of the crime of rape of a vulnerable person.  Furthermore, the minister also highlighted that Law 15,353, sanctioned in March this year, prevents the relativization of crime.  However, the rapporteur considered that the specific case is exceptional due to the “family nucleus” currently maintained. According to Messod, the conviction of the accused could “disrupt the family nucleus”, “remove the father from his children” and transform the case into a “greater tragedy”. "The defendant has always worked as a Ceasa loader and a bricklayer's assistant, he has no notes on his [criminal] certificate. The most important thing about all this is that they form a family nucleus. They are only five years apart, there is no violence, there is no abuse, there is a stable relationship", he stated. Then, Minister Marluce Caldas said that she is concerned about cases of rape of vulnerable people and highlighted that, out of every ten cases that come to court, eight involve rapes against minors.  "We are capable of transforming cultures. We have to transform this culture. Our teenagers, when they become young women, are not ready to lose their life project, to suffer these embarrassments", he commented. However, the minister said that the specific case involves an "established family" and that there was an acquittal in other instances of justice.  “We are only reinforcing and establishing what has already been decided in lower courts,” he stated. Ribeiro Dantas also accompanied the rapporteur and said that the specific case is exceptional.  "We cannot sacrifice an entire family nucleus, which, in this case, is functional, walking normally. This is what most children and adolescents would like to have, a family group capable of supporting them. Are we going, in the name of inflexibility, punitiveness, to remove this and just seek sanctions?", he asked. Last to vote, Minister Joel Paciornik stated that the specific case involves "reduced age difference", "family consent" and "stable romantic relationship". "The rapporteur brings several precedents and a series of other cases from other classes, where the court has made reservations in specific cases", he added. Prohibition  In March this year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sanctioned Law 15,353, which prohibits the relativization of the crime of rape of a vulnerable person. The norm defined the absolute presumption of the victim's vulnerability, that is, no circumstance can be taken into account by the Court, as occurred in the STJ, to prevent the punishment of the aggressors.  The sanction occurred after the decision of the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais (TJMG) to acquit a man accused of rape of a 12-year-old teenager.