BJJ black belt Marcel Goncalves intends to “rely on the defense of insanity” when he goes to trial over his alleged sexual assault of a minor, according to a public court document obtained by the Jiu-Jitsu Times.
The notice, which was filed on December 15, 2020 in the twentieth judicial circuit in Collier County, Florida, reads as follows:
“The Defendant, MARCEL GONCALVES, by and through the undersigned attorney, files this “NOTICE OF INTENT TO RELY ON INSANITY DEFENSE” pursuant to Rule 3.216 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Defendant intends to rely on the defense of insanity at the trial of this matter and offers the below statement of in support.
The Defendant expects to establish that the Defendant was legally insane at the time of the charged offense, and specifically suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).”
Goncalves was arrested in March of 2018 following accusations of an alleged sexual relationship he had with his then-16-year-old BJJ student. Goncalves, who was 31 at the time of the arrest and had been coaching at a Fight Sports affiliate academy, was charged with three counts of felony sexual assault. A report from Florida-based news outlet Wink News said that Goncalves admitted to having sexual intercourse with a minor at the time of his arrest.
Florida law states that “a person 24 years of age or older who engages in sexual activity with a person 16 or 17 years of age commits a felony of the second degree.”
