Former IBJJF World Championship winner Erberth Santos has now been sentenced to 14 years, 7 months, and 21 days in prison. It wasn’t even that long ago that Santos was a top competitor in the sport, as he won the world title in 2017 and still competed for major promotions up until as recently as 2022. Santos was always known as something of a hothead in competition and was frequently involved in altercations and unsportsmanlike behaviour. He initiated the famous brawl at BJJ Stars and was seen getting in trouble with the police, all while he was still actively competing at the highest level of the sport.
Regardless of the reputation that Santos had in the sport, it still came as a massive shock to the BJJ community when he was arrested in 2023 for a string of rapes and robberies. Santos was arrested alongside another combat sports competitor, his co-conspirator Andre Pessoa, and the original police investigation believed that they had raped at least four women using extreme violence. The pair were also found with guns and knives in their possession when they were arrested and Brazilian news outlet Globo reported that they both confessed to the crimes that they were accused of at the time.
Now a little over a year later, both men have been given prison sentences and although Erberth Santos will serve a little over 14 years in prison, Pessoa was given 8 years, 1 month, and 23 days as his sentence. Globo reported that this was because Pessoa was not convicted of rape like Santos was, although both men were convicted of robbery. The sentencing marks the conclusion of the criminal case and all that is left is for Santos to serve his time behind bars. Although it’s obviously terrible news that something like this could be perpetrated by someone so heavily involved in the BJJ world, it’s at least reassuring that justice has been served for the victims.
