ARAÚJO JÚNIOR, J. W.; ARAÚJO JÚNIOR, José Wilson de.
Resumo:
Law 12.015 / 09 changed significantly provisions of the Penal Code, to provide for crimes
against sexual dignity, which in the previous wording crimes were called against custom, an
expression which proved to be lagged with social evolution. In addition, another amendment
made by this standard embodied in the forecast of vulnerable rape crime typified in article 217
- A of said criminal standard. The insertion of such a crime has been subject to serious
doctrinal and jurisprudential discussions, taking part of the doctrine and understood law that
the vulnerability addressed by the legislature is absolute, and the other party understands that
in some situations the magistrate can relativize the scope of this vulnerability causing in some
cases there just decision based on the principle of proportionality. By analyzing the case law it
appears that the Paraíba State Court of Justice on several occasions has relativized the concept
of expected vulnerability in the Penal Code, especially when the sexual act is performed with
the line of the individual under the age of 14 or in situations that the victim already coexists
cohabiting with the author of the vulnerable rape. Moreover, these assumptions justify the
relativistic concept of vulnerability in sexual crimes.