The criminal profile of elderly male inmates differs markedly from that of the rest of the prison population in Brazil, researchers have found. While crimes against property and drug-related offenses predominate among men under 60, sexual crimes are the most common among the elderly. This was one of the surprising findings in a study conducted in 38 prisons in Rio de Janeiro, led by sociologist Maria Cecília de Souza Minayo and psychologist Patrícia Constantino from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation’s National School of Health Policy (ENSP–FIOCRUZ). Among women, the FIOCRUZ study found that drug trafficking, crimes against property, and crimes against persons — offenses that affect physical integrity, life, and individual freedom — are the most common across all age groups.
“Of the 647 elderly male inmates interviewed, 287 were serving sentences for sexual assault,” says Constantino. According to Tiago Joffily, a public prosecutor in the Rio de Janeiro State Public Prosecutor’s Office, among the 112 cases of sexually based crimes identified among people aged 70 or older, only two did not involve a child or adolescent as the victim. Joffily, who completed a doctorate in criminal law in 2012 at Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), explains that Article 217-A of the Brazilian Penal Code provides the same legal treatment for all forms of sexual assault, from situations involving intercourse to those involving unauthorized touching. “Any type of sexual assault is classified as a heinous crime, carrying penalties of at least eight years of imprisonment,” he says. He adds that among elderly individuals over 70, homicides are the second leading reason for incarceration, accounting for 15% of convictions.
– Brazilian prisons increase risk of illness and violent death
– Female prisoners have poorer health than the general population and are often abandoned by their families
– Elderly population in Brazilian prisons has increased more than ninefold in 18 years
The prevalence of sexual assault among crimes committed by elderly male inmates was mirrored in similar research conducted in prisons in Bahia and Pernambuco. In a quantitative study involving 529 elderly individuals in 19 prisons in Pernambuco, Irene Cardoso Sousa, a public prosecutor in the state’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, found that 41% of these individuals committed their first crime after the age of 60, and of these, 60% were sexual in nature. Her research, for a doctoral thesis defended in 2024 at FIOCRUZ in Pernambuco, investigated all complaints against elderly males in a database maintained by the state’s Court of Justice, finding that 80% of the victims of sexual crimes were vulnerable people, especially children and adolescents. Sousa notes that the US and UK have similarly reported high rates of sexual crimes committed by the elderly. “This trend has been attracting attention worldwide,” says the researcher, citing, for example, the “Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Investigations” report published by the UK government in 2017. The report shows that sexual offenses are the primary reason for the conviction of 60% of elderly inmates in the UK, compared to 16% for the overall prison population.
In a doctoral thesis completed in 2018 at the State University of Southwest Bahia (UESB), nursing researcher Pollyanna Viana Lima identified the same trend. She notes that elderly individuals convicted of sexual crimes need to be kept in separate wings from other inmates; otherwise, they risk being killed or suffering mistreatment. One of the individuals she spoke with, who was serving a sentence for sexual assault, had severe gastric problems resulting from trauma sustained after being beaten upon arrival at the prison. “Violence against children, adolescents, and women is not usually tolerated by other inmates, and those who commit such crimes face retaliation,” she explains.
Multiple hypotheses have been suggested to explain the predominance of sexual crimes, but all of them require further investigation. Constantino, for example, cites neurological factors, such as early-stage dementia, which can exacerbate libido and lead to inappropriate behavior. “The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir [1908–1986] said that a man’s phallic drive is the last to die,” recalls Minayo, noting that understanding the motivations behind sexual crimes committed by the elderly is the main unresolved question left by the study. Alongside Constantino, Minayo is currently working on a study commissioned by the ministries of Health and Justice to assess the living and health conditions of elderly men and women in Brazilian prisons nationwide.
The story above was published with the title “Elderly crime” in issue 342 of august/2024.
Scientific articles
Learning from PPO investigations ‒ Older prisoners. Prisons & Probation Ombudsman Independent Investigations. London, 2017.
LOPES, A. M. dos S. et al. Idosos privados de liberdade: Perfil de saúde e criminal. Revista Kairós-Gerontologia. 25(1), 73–91. São Paulo, 2022.
Book
MINAYO, M. C. de S. & CONSTANTINO, P. Frágeis e invisíveis: Saúde e condições de vida de pessoas idosas privadas de liberdade. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Fiocruz, 2024.
