Dani Alves, the former Barcelona and Brazil footballer, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for the rape of a woman at a nightclub in Spain.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday morning at the Barcelona court, where he had been on trial earlier this month. As a result, the 40-year-old father-of-two will spend his first night behind bars as a convicted sex offender.
Since his arrest in January 2023, he had been held in custody at Brians 2 Prison near the Catalan capital. Alves maintained his innocence during his trial, but admitted to engaging in sexual activity with his 23-year-old accuser in a restroom at the upscale Barcelona nightclub Sutton on December 30, 2022, claiming it was consensual.
The victim of the rape case testified in court that Alves had sexually assaulted her, while her friend, who was present during the incident, described how the victim was in distress after the attack took place in a small bathroom.
State prosecutors pushed for a nine-year prison term if Alves, a former national team player with over 100 appearances, was found guilty. The victim’s private prosecutor, on the other hand, requested a 12-year sentence during the trial.
Judicial officials confirmed: “Daniel Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being convicted of sexual assault. The court also ordered him to stay away from his victim for nine and a half years and determined he should pay his victim €150,000 and pay costs.
“The sentence says it has been proved the victim didn’t consent and there is proof supporting the victim’s testimony to consider the rape has been proven.”
The compensation that Alves has been ordered to pay was considered as a mitigating factor in determining his sentence, according to the judges.
They stated that Alves forcibly restrained the victim, threw her to the ground, and disregarded her pleas to stop while engaging in non-consensual penetration. The judges further noted that the victim displayed coherence throughout the investigation and subsequent trial, with no contradictions arising from her court examinations.
Alves, who made history as the oldest player to represent Brazil at the World Cup in December 2022 in Qatar, was directed to face trial in November. Initially, the accusation against him involved inappropriate touching inside a toilet in the VIP area of Sutton nightclub. However, it later emerged that the victim had reported being raped.
Alves initially denied knowing his female accuser before his arrest, but later changed his statement once he was taken into custody.
During a private interview conducted by Spanish TV and newspaper reporter Mayka Navarro in June at Brians 2 Prison near Barcelona, he admitted, “The only individual I owe an apology to is my wife, Joana Sanz.”
Shortly after the accusations against him became public, Sanz announced her decision to part ways with the ex-Brazilian footballer. Their separation took place in March 2023.
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