Brazilian soccer star Dani Alves went on trial in Spain on Monday, a year after he was accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub.
Former Barcelona player Alves has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman on the night of December 31, 2022, but he denies any wrongdoing.
Alves arrived in a police van and took his seat in court wearing a white dress shirt and jeans. His mother was also present at the Barcelona court. The trial is scheduled to run until Wednesday.
State prosecutors are seeking a nine-year prison sentence for Alves if convicted, while a lawyer representing the accuser is seeking a 12-year sentence.
Under Spain’s 2022 Sexual Consent Law, sexual assault offenses include a wide range of crimes, from online abuse and molestation to rape, each of which carries different penalties. Rape cases can carry up to 15 years in prison.
Alves, now 40, was arrested on January 20, 2023, after responding to a police summons during a visit to Spain. The court ordered the player to be jailed after analyzing the initial police investigation and hearing testimony from the alleged victim, witnesses and the player himself.
Three days after his arrest, Alves was transferred by authorities to Brians Prison 2, about 45 minutes northwest of Barcelona, for security reasons. He’s been there ever since.
Despite Alves’ offer to surrender his passport and be fitted with a tracking device, his request for bail was rejected because the court deemed him a flight risk. Brazil does not extradite its citizens convicted of crimes in other countries.
According to evidence submitted to the state prosecutor’s office, the woman said she met Alves just after midnight at a nightclub in Sutton, in one of Barcelona’s upscale districts. According to her testimony, she followed him into the VIP area and her private bathroom, where he allegedly slapped her, used derogatory language at her, and raped her.
Before Mr. Alves was indicted by an investigating judge in August, his lawyers tried unsuccessfully to discredit the testimony of his accusers and other witnesses by presenting nightclub surveillance footage. finished. The court said the alleged flirting “must not in any way justify the eventual sexual assault.”
Alves made many defensive adjustments.
Initially, he denied ever seeing the woman when he went dancing on the night in question.
At the time of his arrest, the man denied having had any sexual contact with the woman, but three months later he admitted to having had sexual contact with the woman, with her consent. He said he initially did not approve of their sexual relationship and was trying to save his marriage.
In the only interview Alves gave after his arrest, he told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia in June: And what didn’t happen is that I forced that woman to do what we did. ”
Alves changed lawyers three times. He will be represented at trial by defense expert Ines Guardiola, who was appointed in October.
The alleged victim is represented by Estelle Garcia, an expert in sex crimes prosecution.
The trial will be conducted by a three-judge panel presided over by Judge Isabel Delgado. Twenty-eight witnesses are scheduled to testify Monday through Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s expert hearing in court. The court will decide on Monday when Alves and his accuser will testify.
The court ordered that the accuser’s evidence be kept behind closed doors and that her image cannot be taken to protect her identity. The decision was taken after a video purportedly identifying the woman went viral on social media last month.
Mr Alves has been ordered to set aside €150,000 to pay if the alleged victim is found guilty and ordered to pay damages.
Alves’ arrest shattered his image as a charismatic winner with a long and successful career.
He won major titles with several elite clubs including Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He also helped Brazil win two Copa America trophies and an Olympic gold medal. He will play in his third World Cup in 2022, the only one without a major title.
The right-back was a key figure in Barcelona’s golden era, playing as Lionel Messi’s teammate from 2008 to 2016. He won the Champions League three times in that time with the Catalan club and briefly returned in 2022.
Alves was released from his contract with Mexican club Pumas shortly after his arrest.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline on 1800-77 8888 or text service at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ and web chat options or visit “Rape.”crisis heL.P.