Football star Dani Alves found guilty of rape, sentenced to four and a half years in prison
Dani Alves, one of the most suc‐ cessful soccer players of his gen‐ eration, was found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub and sentenced to four years and six months in prison on Thursday.
The former Brazil and Barcelona right back was con‐ victed in Spain under a new sex‐ ual liberty law that emphasizes the lack of consent of the victim as key to determining sex crimes.
A three‐judge panel at the Barcelona Provincial Court con‐ victed the 40‐year‐old Alves of sexual assault for the incident on Dec. 31, 2022.
The court ordered Alves to pay 150,000 euros ($162,000) in compensation to the victim, banned him from approaching the victim's home or place of work, and from communicating with her by any means for nine years.
The victim's lawyer, Ester Gar‐ cía, said on Wednesday she and her client would not be present for the verdict.
The victim said Alves raped her in the bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub on the morning of Dec. 31, 2022. The court considered it proven that the victim did not consent to sex and there was ev‐ idence, in addition to the defen‐ dant's testimony, that she was raped.
Alves denied during the three‐ day trial this month that he raped the woman, testifying to the court "I am not that kind of man."
State prosecutors had sought a nine‐year prison sentence for Alves while the lawyers repre‐ senting his accuser wanted 12 years.
His defense asked for his ac‐ quittal, or if found guilty a one‐ year sentence plus 50,000 euros compensation for the victim.
The sentence of four years and six months is near the lowest sentence for a rape conviction, which when the rape took place was penalized by four to 12 years under Spanish law. That has since been modified to six to 12 years. The court in its sentence said it considered favorably for Alves that he had "before the trial paid the court 150,000 euros to be given to the victim without any conditions attached."
Sáenz said his legal team did not agree with the application of the extenuating circumstance, saying the money did not compensate the harm done to their client. During the trial, medical experts testified she was suffering from post‐traumatic stress.
"Clearly (it does not compen‐ sate), but that is what the court decided," Sáenz said. "We have to examine the sentence to see if its contents are adequate for his acts."
The state prosecutor's office said it will study the verdict and consider whether to appeal.