MPRN appeals to keep military police officer's expulsion

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Norte appealed the preliminary ruling that suspended the expulsion of military police officer Pedro Inácio Araújo de Maria, convicted of the murder and rape of student Zaira Cruz. The appeal, filed by the Attorney General's Office to the state Court of Justice, seeks to overturn the reinstatement of the officer to the force. The judicial move has brought the case and the administrative exclusion order into the spotlight.

The Prosecutor's Office's appeal against reinstatement

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Norte (MPRN) petitioned the Court of Justice (TJRN) to contest the injunction that suspended Pedro Inácio Araújo de Maria's removal from the Military Police. The Attorney General's Office argues that the officer's expulsion must be maintained immediately. The body contends that the measure is necessary to preserve morality and discipline within the state’s military police corps.

The crime and Pedro Inácio's conviction

Pedro Inácio Araújo de Maria was sentenced by the Jury Court to 20 years in prison. The crimes of qualified homicide and rape were committed against 22‑year‑old student Zaira Dantas Silveira Cruz in March 2019. The incident occurred inside a vehicle parked at the Itans reservoir in Caicó during Carnival. The criminal conviction, decided in 2025 by a 4‑to‑3 vote, has not yet become final, and the former officer’s defense is appealing the result, maintaining his innocence.

Administrative decisions of the Military Police

Pedro Inácio’s expulsion took place in July 2026, ordered by the General Command of the Military Police. Previously, in 2024, a Disciplinary Council had imposed only a 30‑day disciplinary detention on the officer. The MPRN deemed that first sanction inadequate and disproportionate given the gravity of the case, noting that it was never served because the accused was already under preventive detention. Following the Prosecutor's Office recommendation, the General Command annulled the earlier decision and decreed expulsion for violation of the corps’ decorum and damage to personal honor.

Legal disagreement over the punishment

The judicial decision that ordered the officer’s reinstatement was based on the argument that, since the criminal conviction had not become final, it could not justify a new administrative penalty for the same facts. In contrast, the MPRN maintains that the administrative and criminal spheres are independent. The prosecutorial body emphasizes that the annulment of the initial sanction and the subsequent expulsion fall within the revision powers of public administration. The current reinstatement injunction does not alter the 20‑year prison sentence imposed by the jury.

With information from G1, Tribuna do Norte.