Jiu-jitsu professor Melqui Galvão‘s defense team has filed a request to transfer him from a special prison in São Paulo’s northern zone to house arrest, citing a recent shoulder surgery as the basis for the motion. The request was submitted last Monday, and a court ruling is expected in the coming days.
Galvão, who also serves as an investigator with the Amazonas police, is currently being held in pre-trial detention. He faces accusations of s3xually abusing a 17-year-old athlete during a championship held in Italy in February. Following that initial allegation, additional accusers came forward to report the jiu-jitsu instructor.
The defense’s argument for house arrest centers on a shoulder procedure Galvão underwent three weeks ago at a hospital in São Paulo’s city center. Lawyers submitted a medical report to the court indicating that he requires a minimum of 30 physiotherapy sessions, to be performed at a frequency of five to seven days per week, and claimed those sessions cannot be adequately provided within the prison facility.
However, the case against releasing him has gained significant weight from several notable details. Just two weeks before the house arrest request was filed, Galvão was found with a cell phone hidden in his underwear during a raid on his prison cell.
Additionally, prison management responded to the court by stating that the necessary physical therapy treatment could be administered inside the facility.
Perhaps the most telling detail came from the attorney representing the athlete who reported the abuse. That lawyer submitted documents to the court revealing that the clinic proposed for Galvão’s treatment is located at the exact same address as Galvão Saúde e Performance, a company based in Jundiaí, in the interior of São Paulo state. That company is co-owned by Galvão himself and his wife.
Court documents also include photos indicating that the physiotherapist in question has a close personal relationship with Galvão and members of his family.
In a development that raised eyebrows, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of São Paulo initially agreed to the house arrest proposal to allow Galvão to attend the sessions. That position, set against the mounting evidence of conflicts of interest tied to the proposed treatment arrangement, has drawn considerable attention as the court prepares to issue its decision.
