Ex-Brazil player Dani Alves jailed for 4.5 years for sexual assault

A Spanish court on Thursday sentenced former Brazil international Dani Alves to 4½ years in prison after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022.

The court also ordered the three-time Champions League winner to pay the victim 150,000 euros ($162,990), reports AFP.

It also ordered Alves to five years’ probation after he serves his jail term.

However, Alves will be able to request leave for short periods from the prison near Barcelona.

Besides the complainant’s testimony, there is evidence that allows the rape to be proven, according to the Barcelona court.

The court said she suffered a knee injury after Alves pushed her to the floor.

Alves, 40, has been in prison pre-trial since January 2023, following his arrest on December 31, 2022, over the incident at the Sutton nightclub.

The court denied him bail multiple times after being deemed a flight risk since Brazil does not extradite its citizens when convicted and sentenced for crimes in other countries.

Alves was best known for his time playing for Barcelona and the Brazilian national team.

Prosecutors had called for a nine-year jail sentence and 10 years of probation for the Accused and the victim requested 12 years of sentence.

However, the court landed on 4½ years, saying that he had opted to pay the victim the compensation regardless of the trial’s outcome as a mitigating factor.

One of the world’s most decorated footballers during a storied career, Alves went on trial earlier this month on charges of raping a woman.

Quoting his accuser, prosecutors said Alves had forced her violently to have sex in a private bathroom of the nightclub despite her begging him.

His lawyer told reporters outside the court that Alves would appeal the ruling as he maintained the sex with the woman was consensual.