Ex-Brazil footballer Dani Alves sentenced to 4.5 years in prison over sexual assault
Updated: Feb 22nd, 2024
Former Brazil and Barcelona FC footballer Dani Alves has been found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub and sentenced to 4.5 years in jail.
The 40-year-old footballer had denied sexually assaulting the woman in the early hours of 31 December 2022 and he can appeal against the sentence.
In a statement, the court said there was evidence other than the victim’s testimony that proved that she had been raped. It also ordered him to pay €150,000 (£128,500) to the victim, as per news reports.
Alves, who has been held in pre-trial detention since January 2023, has altered his testimony multiple times during this month’s trial.
Initially, he denied any acquaintance with his accuser but later said that they had encountered each other in the restroom, stating that no incident had occurred between them.
Subsequently, he revised his account once more, asserting that they engaged in consensual sexual activity.
The victim told state prosecutors that Alves and his friend had bought champagne for three young women before asking one of them to accompany him to another area with a toilet which she did not know of.
At that point they argued and he turned violent, forcing the woman to have sex despite her repeated requests to leave.
Dani Alves’ arrest
The former FC Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint Germain and Sevilla defender was arrested in Barcelona on Jan 20 last year in relation to an alleged sexual assault in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve.
Alves was arrested after arriving from Mexico, where he currently plays for Pumas in the Liga MX.
Regional prosecutors had asked for the 39-year-old to be remanded in custody without bail, as investigations continued into the alleged incident in the ‘Sutton’ nightclub.
The defender had previously spoken about the case to a Spanish TV network, in which he denied all of the allegations.
“I’m very sorry, but I have no idea who that lady is, I don’t know who she is, I’ve never seen her in my life. In all these years I have never invaded someone’s personal space, much less without consent, how am I going to do it with a woman or a girl?,” he said.
(Source: IANS)
- Edited for style
