Anger over Brazil rape ruling

A United Nations agency said it is deplorable that Brazil’s top appeals court has ruled that sex with a 12-year-old does not necessarily constitute statutory rape.

The head of the UN refugee agency’s office for South America says in a statement that, in his words, the “sexual life of a child cannot be used to revoke its rights”.

A court ruled last week that a man accused of having sex with three 12-year-olds could not be convicted of rape because of extenuating circumstances, including the fact that the girls had previously worked as prostitutes.