While the suspect was already being arrested on child rape charges, he is now facing additional counts of racial discrimination and illegal possession of firearms.
Policia Civil Rio de JaneiroLead detective Luis Armond estimated that just one of these uniforms could cost up to $289,115.
Police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, arrested suspected pedophile Aylson Proenca Doyle Linhares on Wednesday. According to The Times of Israel, the disturbing allegations included child rape, leading authorities to file an official warrant for the 58-year-old. When they entered his home, however, they discovered a $3.4 million trove of Nazi memorabilia inside.
According to Reuters, police were stunned at the haul of illegal World War II artifacts, as there were more than 1,000 in the residence. They ranged from Nazi uniforms draped over mannequins and swastika flags to Third Reich periodicals, medals, nine firearms and ammo — and images of Adolf Hitler himself.
“He is a smart guy and articulate, but he’s a Holocaust denier, he’s homophobic, he’s a pedophile and he says he hunts homosexuals,” said lead detective Luis Armond. “I’m no doctor. But he seems to me an insane psychopath.”
Policia Civil Rio de JaneiroOne of the many Nazi documents discovered in the residence — this one bearing Linhares’ own photo.
According to Deutsche Welle, Linhares first came to the attention of the civil police when locals reported him as a child predator. While the warrant was filed over claims he had raped a child and abused several others who lived in his apartment complex, Linhares now faces further charges.
Linhares presumably never registered his firearms, as evident by the illegal weapons charge added to his child rape and child sexual abuse charges. The fact that his home was practically a museum to fascist authoritarianism, meanwhile, landed him with an additional charge of racial discrimination.
Not much is known about Linhares aside from his alleged deviant recreational activities and the glaring penchant for collecting Nazi memorabilia. What is clear, however, is that Linhares spent a fortune on his collection.
Detective Armond estimated that just one of these authentic Nazi uniforms could cost up to $289,115. From the publicly released photographs taken in Linhares’ home, it appeared he had at least a dozen of them neatly organized against a wall.
Bettmann/Getty ImagesJosef Mengele (center-right), the Nazi “Angel of Death” who conducted unspeakable experiments on Jewish concentration camp victims, fled to Brazil following WW2.
According to The Washington Post, authorities revealed that the suspect came from a wealthy family of investors. Detective Armond was confident in stating that Linhares used his substantial inheritance to afford the Nazi shrine, as doing so on a modest salary would be financially impossible.
“This is something that is totally unusual and shocking,” said Armond.
With Linhares placed under arrest and his illegal possessions seized, police have begun searching for a museum to donate the artifacts to. The evidence would be educational for the public — as South America was once a thriving hub of escaped Nazi war criminals.
Brazil had hosted the single-largest fascist party outside of Europe after World War II. It had deep ties to Germany even before the Third Reich began to conquer the European continent, and saw an exorbitant number of high-ranking Nazis live in anonymity thereafter.
Wikimedia CommonsThe Rio de Janeiro civil police headquarters, where investigators are pondering museums to donate the items to — and investigating the suspect’s far-right connections.
According to History, both Chile and Argentina became safe havens for former Nazis as well. It’s estimated that up to 9,000 Nazi officers and accomplices from other nations fled to South America in total, with Chile harboring about 1,000, Brazil as many as 2,000, and Argentina 5,000.
While authorities are hunting for an appropriate museum, they’re also expanding their investigation into Linhares’ connections, focusing on potential ties to far-right groups that may have served as accomplices in his endeavors.
Ultimately, the 58-year-old Brazilian has followed in the footsteps of countless others across the world. It was only a few months ago that a German retiree was fined $300,000 for keeping a Nazi tank in his cellar. In January, Spanish police found a “Nazi museum” during a sting operation that targeted arms traffickers.
After reading about the Nazi memorabilia trove discovered in a suspected pedophile’s home, learn about the German retiree who was fined $300,000 for keeping a WW2 tank in his basement. Then, read about Spanish police discovering a “Nazi museum” during a weapons bust.
