Jiu-jitsu coach caught using cellphone in Manaus jail amid sexual violence probe

Multiple adolescent victims sexually abused within a sports program, with abuse beginning when victims were as young as 16 years old.
He would build relationships by offering money, then the abuse followed.
Investigators documented a pattern in which Melqui Galvão used financial incentives to groom adolescent athletes before sexually abusing them.

Em uma cela de prisão em Manaus, um instrutor de jiu-jitsu chamado Melqui Galvão foi flagrado usando um celular contrabandeado — aparentemente para pressionar vítimas e testemunhas de um processo por violência sexual que ele mesmo enfrenta. O dispositivo, segundo as autoridades, teria sido introduzido por seu irmão, um policial civil que também responde por acusações de estupro e assédio sexual. O caso revela como espaços de confiança — programas esportivos voltados a jovens atletas — podem ser transformados em ambientes de predação sistemática, e como essa predação pode tentar se perpetuar mesmo a partir do interior de uma cela.

  • Melqui Galvão, preso preventivamente por violência sexual, foi filmado em videochamada usando um celular que jamais deveria estar em sua cela.
  • Investigadores acreditam que ele usava o aparelho para intimidar vítimas e testemunhas, prolongando de dentro da prisão o mesmo controle que exercia fora dela.
  • Seu irmão Enoque Galvão, policial civil, é suspeito de ter contrabandeado o celular — e ele próprio foi preso temporariamente após duas mulheres o acusarem de estupro e assédio sexual.
  • Novos depoimentos revelam um padrão deliberado: Melqui conquistava a confiança de atletas adolescentes com dinheiro, equipamentos e inscrições em torneios antes de iniciar os abusos.
  • O caso se expande a cada novo relato, configurando não um incidente isolado, mas uma rede de predação institucional dentro de um programa esportivo destinado a jovens.

Em uma cela em Manaus, o instrutor de jiu-jitsu Melquisedeque de Lima Galvão Ferreira — conhecido como Melqui Galvão — foi flagrado em vídeo usando um celular contrabandeado. A gravação, feita pela pessoa do outro lado da chamada e entregue à polícia civil, não revelou apenas um aparelho proibido: revelou o que as autoridades acreditam ser uma tentativa ativa de pressionar vítimas e testemunhas de um processo por violência sexual ainda em curso.

Melqui Galvão está em prisão preventiva enquanto responde por acusações de violência sexual. O celular, segundo a investigação, não chegou à cela por acaso — teria sido introduzido por seu irmão Enoque Galvão, policial civil, que foi preso temporariamente após duas mulheres registrarem queixas contra ele por estupro e assédio sexual. Os crimes atribuídos a Enoque também teriam ocorrido dentro do programa esportivo coordenado por Melqui.

À medida que novos depoimentos eram juntados ao processo, um padrão se tornou evidente. Uma das vítimas relatou que os abusos começaram quando ela tinha dezesseis anos e participava do projeto atlético do treinador. O método, segundo a investigação, era deliberado: Melqui construía vínculos com jovens atletas oferecendo dinheiro, pagando equipamentos e cobrindo taxas de inscrição em competições. Estabelecida a dependência financeira e a confiança, os abusos se seguiam.

O celular encontrado na cela é, para os investigadores, a extensão de uma lógica de controle que não cessou com a prisão. O fato de um policial — seu próprio irmão — ter possivelmente facilitado esse acesso acrescenta ao caso uma dimensão de falha institucional. O que a investigação vai desenhando não é um episódio isolado, mas um quadro de predação sistemática dentro de um espaço que deveria ser seguro.

In a jail cell in Manaus, a jiu-jitsu instructor named Melquisedeque de Lima Galvão Ferreira—known as Melqui Galvão—was caught on video doing something he should not have been able to do: using a cellphone. The footage came from a video call, recorded by the person on the other end and turned over to civil police. What made the discovery significant was not simply the contraband device itself, but what investigators believe he was using it for: to pressure and intimidate sexual abuse victims and witnesses in an ongoing criminal investigation.

Melqui Galvão is a jiu-jitsu coach and fighter facing allegations of sexual violence. He is being held in preventive detention in Manaus while authorities investigate. The cellphone, authorities say, did not arrive in his cell by accident. His brother, Enoque Galvão, a civil police officer, is suspected of smuggling it inside. Enoque himself has been arrested on temporary detention after two women filed complaints against him for rape and sexual harassment. The alleged crimes occurred within a sports program that Melqui Galvão ran.

The video evidence surfaced as new victim statements were being added to the investigation file. One woman testified that the abuse began when she was sixteen years old and participating in the athletic initiative coordinated by the trainer. Her account was not isolated. As investigators dug deeper, a pattern emerged—a deliberate method of operation that relied on trust and financial incentive. Melqui Galvão, according to the investigation, would build relationships with adolescent female athletes by offering them money, paying for equipment, covering tournament entry fees, and sponsoring their advancement in the sport. Once that trust was established, the abuse followed.

The discovery of the contraband phone suggests an attempt to obstruct justice from inside the detention facility itself. If Melqui Galvão was indeed using the device to contact victims and witnesses, it represents a continuation of the control and coercion that characterized the alleged abuse. The fact that a police officer—his own brother—may have facilitated this adds another layer of institutional failure to the case.

The investigation continues to expand. Each new victim statement adds weight to the pattern authorities are documenting. The case has moved beyond a single allegation or a single victim. What emerges is a picture of systematic predation within a space that was supposed to be safe—a sports program where young athletes came to train and improve themselves, only to encounter an adult who exploited his position of authority and the financial dependence he cultivated. The cellphone in the jail cell is evidence of something deeper: an attempt to silence that truth.

The coach would offer financial support and sponsorship to adolescent athletes, then abuse them
— Civil police investigation findings
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Inventor

Why would someone in his position risk using a contraband phone while already detained?

Model

Because the investigation was growing. New victims were coming forward. He needed to control the narrative, or at least try to—to reach people before they could speak fully to police.

Inventor

And his brother helped him do this?

Model

That's what the investigation suggests. A civil police officer with access to the detention facility. It's not just about smuggling a phone. It's about the appearance that the system itself might be compromised.

Inventor

What was the method? How did he target these girls?

Model

Money, mostly. He'd offer to pay for their training, their equipment, their tournament fees. For adolescents without resources, that's powerful. It creates obligation, gratitude, a sense of debt. By the time abuse occurred, the victim often felt trapped—financially dependent on the person harming them.

Inventor

And this happened within his own program?

Model

Yes. The sports initiative he ran. It was the infrastructure he used. The place where he had access to young athletes, where he had authority, where parents trusted him.

Inventor

What does the phone call suggest about his state of mind?

Model

Desperation, maybe. Or calculation. He's in a cell, facing serious charges, and instead of accepting that reality, he's trying to manage it from inside. That tells you something about how he operated before—always trying to control, always reaching out to influence people around him.

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