After spending a year in a Spanish prison, Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves is scheduled to go on trial this week for allegedly sexually assaulting a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub.
Former Barcelona player Alves is accused of sexually assaulting a woman on the night of December 30, 2022, but he denies any wrongdoing. The trial is scheduled for Monday to Wednesday at a court in Barcelona.
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.
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.”
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.
Alves made many defensive adjustments.
Initially, he denied ever seeing the woman when they went dancing at the Sutton nightclub in one of Barcelona’s exclusive residential areas.
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.
After being charged, he reportedly claimed that he was intoxicated as an extenuating circumstance.
Mr Alves has changed lawyers three times. Ines Guardiola, the defense expert he hired in October, will serve as his defense attorney at trial.
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 accusers testify.
The court ordered that the accuser’s testimony would take place behind closed doors and that her image could not be taken to protect her identity. The decision was taken after a video purportedly identifying the woman went viral on social media last month.
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.
Alves was ordered to set aside 150,000 euros (approximately $162,000) to pay to the alleged victim if he is convicted 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 titles and an Olympic gold medal at the age of 38. In 2022, he played in his third World Cup, but this is the only major title he has not won.
The right-back played an important role as Lionel Messi’s teammate during Barcelona’s golden era 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.
sign up Get more English news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition with our weekly newsletter.