Dani Alves convicted of raping at nightclub, sentenced to prison
Dani Alves who played for Brazil and Barcelona was found guilty of raping a woman and will stay jailed for four and half years.
Though prosecutors were divided over how many years Alves should be jailed if convicted, Spain’s judicial officials gave the following statement:
‘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.
‘We conclude the complainant went voluntarily to the VIP bathroom area, with the aim of being in a more intimate space with the man she accused of rape.
‘After agreeing it with Mrs VVVV, Daniel Alves went towards the door next to his table in the nightclub which led to the toilet and went inside. Two minutes afterwards VVV followed.
‘Once there, and although it hasn’t been proved that the accused introduced his penis into the complainant’s mouth or that she voluntarily practiced a sex act on Mr Alves, he tried to penetrate the victim, using his greater strength by throwing her on the ground and hitting her with his knee.
‘The victim asked Daniel Alves to let her leave, telling him she wanted to go, but Mr Alves did not let her.
‘The victim, finding herself in this situation, in that small toilet without any possibility of leaving because Mr Alves was stopping it and in the face of the violent attitude he was demonstrating, became stressed and unable to react.
‘She ended up feeling as if she couldn’t breathe given the situation of anguish and terror she was experiencing.’
Alves’ lawyer said they would appeal the decision.
‘All I can say at the moment is we are going to appeal the sentence and I still believe in the innocence of Mr Alves. He’s doing okay.’
‘Obviously four and a half years’ prison is better than nine years or 12 years and I have yet to read the full sentence but I will appeal.’
Till then, the footballer will stay out of action and seen as guilty.
Dani Alves’ career took place in the following clubs:
Juazeiro SC (1996-1998)
EC Bahia (1998-2002)
Sevilla FC (2002-2008)
FC Barcelona (2008-2016)
Juventus FC (2016-2017)
Paris Saint-Germain (2017-2019)
São Paulo FC (2019-present)
His wife Joana Sanz separated from him in 2023 amid the accusation.