Former Barcelona Star Dani Alves Found Guilty of Nightclub Rape:In a shocking development, former Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves has been found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub. The court in Spain has sentenced the 40-year-old football icon to four and a half years in prison, along with an additional five years of probation.
Alves, one of the most decorated footballers in history, had vehemently denied the allegations of sexually assaulting the woman in the early hours of December 31, 2022. His lawyer had sought his acquittal and announced plans to appeal against the verdict.
The victim’s lawyer expressed satisfaction with the verdict, stating that it “recognises what we have always known: the truth [as told] by the victim and the suffering there has been.”
Despite Alves’s decision to pay the victim €150,000 (£128,500) in damages regardless of the trial’s outcome, the court handed him a significant prison term. The prosecution had originally sought a nine-year prison sentence, but Alves’s sentence fell short of that request.
The court dismissed the argument presented by Alves’s defense that his intoxication should warrant a more lenient sentence, asserting that his alcohol consumption did not excuse his behavior.
According to prosecutors, Alves and a friend had purchased champagne for three young women before Alves allegedly coerced one of them into a VIP area of the nightclub under false pretenses. The prosecution argued that Alves then turned violent, forcing the woman into sexual activity against her will.
The court’s decision rested on evidence beyond the victim’s testimony, including witness accounts and forensic evidence, which supported the woman’s claims of non-consensual intercourse.
Alves, who has been in pre-trial detention since January 2023, had changed his testimony multiple times throughout the proceedings, initially denying any knowledge of the accuser, then admitting to meeting her but denying any sexual encounter, and later claiming consensual sex.
The case underscores the evolving legal landscape regarding consent, with Spanish law recently adopting the “Only Yes is Yes” principle to emphasize the importance of explicit consent in sexual encounters.
Alves’s conviction marks a significant fall from grace for the football superstar, who enjoyed a glittering career spanning multiple clubs and international accolades.