Soccer star Dani Alves was sentenced to four years and six months in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub.
On December 31, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Barcelona State Court found the 40-year-old former Brazil and Barcelona defender guilty of sexual assault in this case.
The court also ordered Alves to pay $162,000 in restitution to the victim and prohibited him from going near the victim’s home or workplace or contacting her in any way for nine years.
Alves was in court to hear the verdict and sentence, and his lawyer Ines Guardiola said he was “calm and calm.”
David Saenz, a member of the victim’s legal team, said: “We are satisfied with this verdict because it acknowledges what we have always known: that the victim told the truth and suffered.” “
The victim’s attorney, Estelle Garcia, said this week that she and her client would not attend the verdict.
The victim said she was raped by Alves in the bathroom of a nightclub in Barcelona on the morning of December 31, 2022.
The court considered it established that the victim did not consent to the sexual act and that in addition to the defendant’s testimony, there was evidence that she had been raped.
Alves denied raping the woman during a three-day trial this month, telling the court: “I’m not that kind of man.”
State prosecutors had asked for a nine-year prison sentence for Alves, while a lawyer representing the accuser had asked for a 12-year sentence.
The defense asked for either an acquittal or, if found guilty, a year in prison and $54,000 in restitution to the victims.
The 4.6 years in prison is very close to the minimum sentence for a rape conviction, which at the time of the rape was subject to sentences ranging from 4 to 12 years under Spanish law.
Later, it was revised from 6 years to 12 years.
In its judgment, the court said it considered favorably that Alves had “paid the court 150,000 euros to be given to the victim before the trial without any conditions”.
Saenz said the defense team disagrees with the application of extenuating circumstances and that the money does not compensate for the harm caused to his client.
During the trial, medical experts testified that she suffered from post-traumatic trauma.
Sainz said: “Obviously it doesn’t (compensate), but that’s what the court decided.” “We need to review the judgment to see if it is appropriate for his conduct.”
The State Attorney’s Office said it would review the sentence and consider whether to appeal.
The Alves case comes after Spain overhauled its law, which stipulates the presence or absence of consent at the heart of the definition of sexual crimes, in 2022 in response to growing protests after the San Fermín gang rape incident. This was the first sex crime to attract attention. Running of the Bulls Festival held in Pamplona in 2016.
The law, widely known as the “Only Jesus Means Yes” law, defines consent as the explicit expression of a person’s will and makes clear that silence or passivity does not equate to consent. .
Mr. Alves has been in prison since he was taken into custody on January 20, 2023.
The Brazilian man’s bail request was rejected because the court deemed him a flight risk. Brazil does not extradite its citizens convicted of crimes in other countries.
The victim told state prosecutors that she danced with Alves and willingly went into the nightclub’s bathroom, but that he later refused to let her leave when she tried to leave.
She said the man slapped her, insulted her and forced her to have sex against her will.
During the investigation while in custody, Alves revised his defense, first denying having had sexual contact with her, then later admitting a consensual sexual relationship.
He said he was initially trying to save his marriage by not acknowledging the relationship.
During the trial, the defense focused on proving that Alves was drunk when he met the woman.
His conviction shatters Alves’ tradition as one of soccer’s most successful players.
Alves won dozens of titles with elite clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He also helped Brazil win two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal at the age of 38.
He played in his third World Cup in 2022, but this is the only major title he has not won. He played for Barcelona from 2008 to 2016, briefly returning to the club in 2022. He still has a residence near Barcelona.
At the time of his arrest, he was playing for Mexican club Pumas. Pumas immediately terminated his contract.
