The Rui Pedro case and the Casa Pia scandal — which erupted in Portugal in 2002 — are frequently discussed together as emblematic of the same institutional failure. The Casa Pia scandal involved systematic abuse of children in Portuguese state care by a network including public figures. What specific logical inference about Portuguese child protection systems can be drawn from the fact that both cases involved known or credibly suspected offenders who operated without effective institutional response for years before their crimes became public scandals?