Argentine actor’s rape sentence upheld, with semi-open detention in Brazil

The Brazilian Judiciary confirmed on Tuesday the sentence of actor Juan Darthés to six years in prison for raping fellow actor Thelma Fardin in 2009. Federal Judge André Custodio Nekatschalow rejected the defense’s attempts to overturn the verdict — which had been filed in June 2024 — finding it proven that the defendant subjected the 16-year-old victim to sexual assault under physical, psychological, and power inequality. Darthés will serve his sentence under the semi-open regime, which allows him to leave the prison during the day to work or study and return at night. The regime is intended for first-time offenders serving sentences of four to eight years. According to Articles 33 and 35 of the Brazilian Penal Code, the convicted person may leave during the day to perform work in agricultural colonies, industrial facilities, or similar settings, or to attend educational courses. At the end of the day, they must return to prison. According to the judge, Fardin’s account was consistent and further supported by the firsthand testimony of fellow cast members María Sol and María Belén Berecoechea, whom Fardin told about the incident the following day, and confirmed her statements. In addition, a psychological report submitted to the court also confirmed symptoms of “distress and anxiety” related to the proceedings. The ruling also pointed out that other women, such as actors Carla Rivero and Ana Inés Coacci, also testified about instances of abuse they suffered at the hands of Darthés. Darthés assaulted Fardin while they both worked on tour in Nicaragua for a highly successful TV show they both performed in called Patito Feo. At the time, she was 16, and he was 45.  In 2018, emboldened by stories from other female colleagues who had spoken out against Darthés, Fardin filed a lawsuit in Nicaragua and went public. She received widespread support, and her story galvanized Argentina’s feminist community, becoming the country’s landmark MeToo case. Although the abuse happened in Nicaragua and both Fardin and Darthés are Argentine, the case was tried in Brazil because he is also a Brazilian citizen. The São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation in 2021. Darthés was acquitted in May 2023 by Federal Judge Fernando Toledo Carneiro, as the investigation had not confirmed that Fardin had been penetrated — a requirement for conviction under Brazilian law at the time of the assault, changed later in 2010. In June 2024, the decision was overturned by two of three judges of the Brazilian Federal Court of Appeals.