Texas jiu-jitsu fighter raped as minor by instructor, world champion named in lawsuit
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A lawsuit has been filed against jiu-jitsu instructor Rodrigo da Costa Oliveira in Harris County for the rape of one of the athletes at the gym he worked at.
Mandy Schneider is a jiu-jitsu fighter who trained in Texas and alleges she was sexually raped as a minor by her coach, Rodrigo da Costa Oliveira, at a competition in Houston. The lawsuit against Oliveira also includes Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu, a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, the company he manages, Fight Sports LLC, and Nicole Bilski and Cody Hudson, former managers at Rockstar Martial Art for doing nothing to correct the abuse.
In the lawsuit, it says Schneider met Oliveira when she was 13 and started training at Rockstar Martial Arts gym in Frisco, Texas, an affiliate with Abreu’s Fight Sports organization.
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Schneider began competing in events such as the Submission Hunter Pro 60 competition in Houston and was taken to the competition alone by Oliveira.
According to the lawsuit, once at the hotel, Oliveira lured Schneider into his room and pressured her to drink alcohol despite the fact that she was a minor. He then allegedly suggested they spar, using jiu-jitsu training as a pretext.
He then brutally sexually assaulted her, forcing himself on her in multiple ways, the lawsuit states.
After returning home from the competition, Schneider told Rockstar Martial Arts managers Bilski and Hudson about the assault.
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By Texas law, they were required to report the incident of abuse of a minor to Schneider’s parents and law enforcement. However, they attempted to hide what happened and told her the sexual assault was her fault, also ordering her to stay quiet, the lawsuit says.
On November 12, 2020, Schneiders father filed a police report after she told her parents about the sexual assault.
"The betrayal and violation I experienced as a child at the hands of a trusted coach and mentor changed my life forever and altered my perception of the sport I love," says Mandy Schneider. "But I refuse to let this trauma take away my passion for jiu-jitsu and I choose to continue my training as an act of defiance against my trauma. My hope is that my story sparks crucial conversations in the jiu-jitsu community about safety, awareness of sexual abuse related to minor athletes and their coaches, and zero tolerance for abuse."
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According to the lawsuit, this is not the only occurrence of sexual assault at Abreu’s Fight Sports organization.
In March 2018, Marcel Gonclaves, another Fight Sports instructor, was charged with three counts of sexual assault of a minor student in Florida.
"My client has shown incredible bravery in shedding light on the appalling sexual abuse she suffered as a minor at the hands of her coach," said Michelle Simpson Tuegel, a nationally recognized advocate for victims' rights. "The repeated failures of Roberto Abreu and Fight Sports to ensure the safety of underage athletes have fostered an environment ripe for such abuse. Our aim is not only to secure some measure of justice for Mandy, but also to hold fully accountable all those who failed in their duty to protect her."