What followed was not a real criminal proceeding against a 5-year-old.
Instead, the adults staged a playful, symbolic hearing.
According to reports, Toledo's wife, attorney Thainara Alexandre, even joined the activity and played the role of Rafael's "defense."
Family members were also present.
The result was something halfway between imaginative play and an age-appropriate lesson in conflict resolution.
Gabriel had been allowed to explain why he was upset.
Rafael had been asked to explain what he had done.
The adults listened.
And then the two children were encouraged to resolve their disagreement.
The Case Ends With a Handshake
There were no handcuffs.
No courtroom.
No punishment from a judge.
Instead, the "case" concluded with something much more appropriate for two preschoolers: a conversation and a handshake.
The boys made peace.
There was even one final reminder of their unusual family hierarchy.
According to local accounts, Rafael reminded Gabriel that, despite being the same age, he was still his uncle.
The exchange reportedly included Gabriel asking for his uncle's blessing, reflecting a family and cultural tradition in which younger relatives ask older-generation family members for a blessing.
It added one final layer of comedy to an already extraordinary scene.
Rafael might have looked like Gabriel's classmate or playmate.
He might have been the same age.
But technically, he was still Uncle Rafael.
And apparently, he wasn't going to let his nephew forget it.
Why Can an Uncle and Nephew Be the Same Age?
The part of the story that fascinated many people online was not necessarily the push.
It was the family relationship.
How could two 5-year-olds be uncle and nephew?
The explanation is actually quite simple.
Imagine a woman has an adult daughter. Years later, that woman has another child of her own.
That new baby is the adult daughter's younger sibling.
Now imagine that the adult daughter also has a baby around the same time.
The first baby is therefore the second baby's uncle or aunt, even though both children were born at roughly the same time.
The family title comes from their position on the family tree, not from their ages.
That is essentially the situation described in reports about Gabriel and Rafael.
Rafael is the brother of Gabriel's mother. That automatically makes Rafael Gabriel's uncle.
There is no minimum age requirement for becoming an uncle.
In families with large age gaps between siblings, situations like this can happen naturally. Someone can become an aunt or uncle as a baby. A niece can be older than her aunt. A nephew can attend school with his uncle.