In early 1994, upon hearing the case, the chief prosecutor, Roberto Pinho, dismissed the defendants for lack of evidence. The assistant prosecutor Antonio Cesar Brito Ferreira rebutted Pinho's arguments and summoned Frazão's testimony, a key witness in the inquiry. Then, on May 17, 1994, Edmilson reiterated his previous testimony given in the police investigation. However, he contradicted himself when he could not say when the alleged acts occurred: when asked, he cited 1989 or 1990. In his first statement, he claimed that it had happened in 1991. Still, Judge Arrifano found the statement satisfactory, and on June 20, contrary to the prosecutor's wishes, pronounced the accused as guilty.
