Ex-Barcelona player Dani Alves has been handed a jail sentence of four and a half years after being found guilty of sexual assault.
The 40 year old was on trial in Spain for allegedly raping a 23 year old woman at a nightclub, said to have occurred on New Years Eve in 2022.
Since then, Alves has been held in prison without bail, and if found guilty, could have faced up to 12 years behind bars.
On the 22nd of February 2024, court found him guilty of sexual assault and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
He has also been sentenced to a further five years of ‘supervised’ freedom upon release and requested to pay €150,000 to the victim plus legal fees.
Nor can Alves communicate with the victim for nine years and six months, or go within one kilometre of her.
Spanish public prosecutors were seeking a nine-year prison term for the footballer.
“The ruling considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there are elements of evidence, in addition to the testimony of the complainant, to understand rape occurred,” the court said in a statement.
Former Barcelona and Brazil full-back Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexual assault.
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— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) February 22, 2024
💥Cinsel saldırıdan yargılanan Dani Alves'e 4.5 yıl hapis cezası verildi!https://t.co/tKyi5A4amf pic.twitter.com/TU83VT5Cid
— Türkiye Spor (@Turkiye_Spor) February 22, 2024
Initially, he denied any involvement with the accuser, but then admitted to having consensual sex with her.
5 people testified at the beginning of the trial, including the alleged victim, her friend, her cousin, a waiter and a doorman from the nightclub. On that day, Alves’ defence team requested that he testify last and on the trial’s final day.
Then the day after, 21 witnesses took the stand, including Joana Sanz, Alves’ wife, and Bruno Brasil, the friend who was with Alves on the night in question.
During the final day in court, which took place on Wednesday the 7th of February 2024, experts in forensics, medicine, and psychology also gave their testimonies.
Alves addressed the court towards the conclusion of the proceedings, asserting his right to only be questioned by his own lawyer and not by the lawyer representing the alleged victim.
Alves provided conflicting versions of the events throughout the investigation, and in an interview conducted in June, he admitted to initially providing false information about the incident, at first denying allegations of sexual penetration, stating that the woman had engaged in oral sex with him.
Then during his second testimony before the investigating judge in April of last year, he confessed that sexual penetration did indeed occur, but claimed it was consensual.
Alves admitted to lying in previous statements in an effort to protect his marriage.
Despite Alves’ request to postpone the trial for more preparation time, the court denied it, dismissing his claim of being subjected to a trial by media.
On day one of the trial, the accuser testified from behind a screen to protect her identity, claiming that Alves had enticed her into a restroom in the VIP section of the nightclub and forced her to engage in sexual activity.
Additionally, her cousin and a friend, who were present on the night of the alleged assault, testified that Alves had made inappropriate advances towards them earlier in the evening.
He brought a drink for her and her companions, and purportedly signalled for her to accompany him to a restroom, the sole section of the establishment lacking surveillance cameras.
Upon entering, it is claimed that Alves insisted on receiving oral sex and, when the woman declined, he sexually assaulted her before departing the club with his associate.
“She told me that he had hurt her a lot and that he had ejaculated inside her,” the court heard from a friend of the alleged victim.
The witness said that Alves was “very slimy” in the booth where the alleged victim and herself had been sitting. “He put his hand on my back; he almost touched my bottom.”
Subsequently, she claimed that she had encountered the purported victim in a distressed condition inside the restroom, and persuaded her to disclose the incident to the nightclub personnel.
A complaint was made about the incident on the same night and underwent a medical assessment, which the prosecution argues revealed injuries consistent with a rape.
Based on the forensic evidence presented during the pre-trial hearings, it’s evident that the woman still experiences post-traumatic stress disorder as a consequence of the alleged assault.
They also revealed that the woman initially hesitated to file a complaint due to her fear of not being believed.
In Spain, rape allegations are investigated under the broader category of sexual assault, and if convicted, individuals can face prison sentences ranging from 4 to 15 years.
The public prosecutor in this case is seeking a 9-year jail term for Alves, along with a €150,000 (£128,000) compensation to be paid to the woman.
Alves’s mother, Lucia Alves, who was present in court, may also face prosecution for revealing the accuser’s identity on social media, despite a court order protecting her anonymity.
Alves was officially charged in August, and subsequent evidence led to his trial.
Numerous requests for his release on bail have been made but denied.
Separately, prosecutors are also looking into a video which was posted identifying and vilifying the alleged victim.
Alves’s mother and others connected to the footballer uploaded a reel via Instagram with the apparent intention of demonstrating that the woman was lying about the alleged rape in order to gain fame and a monetary compensation.
(Video Credit – @EnImArabic on Twitter)
DANI ALVES’ CAREER:
Youth career
1996–1998 – Juazeiro
1998–2001 – Bahia
Senior career
2001–2003 – Bahia – 37 games (5 goals)
2003–2008 – Sevilla – 250 games (16 goals)
2008–2016 – Barcelona – 391 games (21 goals)
2016–2017 – Juventus – 33 games (6 goals)
2017–2019 – Paris Saint-Germain – 73 games (8 goals)
2019–2021 – São Paulo – 95 games (10 goals)
2021–2022 – Barcelona – 17 games (1 goal)
2022–2023 – UNAM – 13 games (0 goals)
International career
2003 – Brazil U20 – 17 games (0 goals)
2021 – Brazil Olympic (O.P.) – 7 games (0 goals)
2006–2022 – Brazil – 126 games (8 goals)
HONOURS:
Bahia
Copa do Nordeste: 2002
Sevilla
Copa del Rey: 2006–07
Supercopa de España: 2007
UEFA Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07
UEFA Super Cup: 2006
Barcelona
La Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16
Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16
Supercopa de España: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
UEFA Champions League: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15
UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011, 2015
FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011, 2015
Juventus
Serie A: 2016–17
Coppa Italia: 2016–17
Paris Saint-Germain
Ligue 1: 2017–18, 2018–19
Coupe de France: 2017–18
Coupe de la Ligue: 2017–18
Trophée des Champions: 2017
São Paulo
Campeonato Paulista: 2021
Brazil U20
FIFA World Youth Championship: 2003
Brazil Olympic
Summer Olympics: 2020
Brazil
Copa América: 2007, 2019
FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009, 2013
Individual
FIFA U-20 World Cup Bronze Ball: 2003
UEFA Cup Most Valuable Player: 2005–06
UEFA Team of the Year: 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017
ESM Team of the Year: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
FIFA FIFPro World11: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
La Liga Defender of the Season: 2008–09
FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the Tournament: 2013
La Liga Team of the Season: 2014–15
France Football World XI: 2015
Serie A Team of the Year: 2016–17
IFFHS Men’s World Team: 2017
UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2017–18
Copa América Golden Ball: 2019
Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2019
IFFHS CONMEBOL Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
Campeonato Paulista Team of the Tournament: 2020
Records
Most UEFA Super Cup titles: (4) (shared with Paolo Maldini) (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)
Most UEFA Super Cup final appearances: (5) (shared with Paolo Maldini) (2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015)
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