Melqui Galvao, 47, was arrested last week following formal complaints filed by three former students. Galvao is also the father and mentor of Mica Galvao, the youngest grappler in history to win the five main jiu-jitsu world championships in a single season, and has worked as a civil police officer in Manaus.
He faces charges of SA, SA of a vulnerable person, unauthorized access to a computer system, and threats. The Court of Justice of São Paulo authorized a temporary arrest warrant after determining that Galvao had been taking steps to obstruct the investigation and suppress evidence. Authorization was also granted to access all cell phones and computer devices.
According to police, Galvao followed a consistent pattern of behavior, using his standing as a respected athlete and leader to build trust with families before escalating his conduct toward teenage girls.
Fantástico spoke exclusively with the first person to file a formal complaint, a teenager who agreed to speak via a voice call arranged by her mother. She said that while traveling abroad with Galvao for a tournament, she fell asleep and later woke to find him reaching inside her clothing.
“He put the chin of my shirt on, and that’s when I woke up. It was the moment I took his hand out from inside my blouse. But I was very scared at that moment.”
After the teenager told her parents, they confronted Galvao. He responded in a 16-minute audio recording, which was handed over to police.
“I did not put my hand under your daughter’s butt. Her belly was showing and I touched her belly. I thought she had been sleeping for a few hours, maybe at most.”
In the same recording, Galvao offered the family a business partnership in a gym in the United States. Investigators say this was an attempt to silence the family and conceal evidence.
A second woman, now an adult, said she began training with Galvao at age 7. She says the harassment began when she was 12, with offers including a kimono, sponsorships, and trips. At age 14, he took her to a motel where SA occurred.
“He always wanted to make me think it was a very normal situation, that he already had relationships with other students.”
A third girl declined to be interviewed but stated in her testimony that Galvao restricted the diets of athletes preparing for competitions and suggested he could grant privileges, such as allowing a girl to eat a sweet, in exchange for physical contact.
Investigators noted that Galvao allegedly used his position as a civil police officer to discourage formal complaints, with one person saying he stated directly that if she filed a complaint, he would know about it because he is a civil police officer.
His son, Mica Galvao, published a statement following the arrest, saying he feels gratitude and love for his father while calling for the facts to be thoroughly investigated and for justice to be served.
Galvao’s defense team maintains that he is innocent and cooperating fully with authorities pending clarification of all facts.
