The trial of former FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star Dani Alves, accused of rape by a young woman, ended on the evening of Wednesday February 7, in Barcelona. The prosecution requested nine years in prison against him, the judges’ verdict could take several weeks.
The former Brazilian international says he is innocent. He claimed to have had a consensual sexual relationship and refuted any form of violence against the complainant during his final testimony.
This version did not convince the prosecutor, who concluded her indictment by considering that the complainant, who testified on Monday in camera, had presented a “absolutely credible story” since the beginning of the investigation, and that Dani Alves had demonstrated ” violence “ towards the young woman. She accuses him of having raped her in the toilets of a VIP room at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona, on the night of December 30 to 31, 2022.
Handcuffed, dressed in a white sweater and wearing glasses, the 40-year-old ex-player defended himself by asserting that the complainant had not ” At no moment (…) say anything” to go away. “If she wanted to leave, she could leave at any time, she didn’t have to be there”added the former right-back, affirming that he was not “not a violent man”.
Request for nine years in prison
In pre-trial detention for a little over a year, he has contested the facts since the start of the case, but his defense has been weakened by his numerous changes of version. After claiming in a video at the beginning of January 2023 that he had never met the complainant, he justified his lie by explaining that he wanted to protect his marriage, before ending up admitting a sexual relationship with the complainant, according to him, consensual.
At the end of the trial, the public prosecutor maintained its demands: nine years in prison for the footballer, as well as the payment of 150,000 euros to the young woman and ten years of supervised release after his release from prison.
“If at some point, [la femme] says “no further”, it is “no further”. Mr. Alves cannot continue if the victim does not give consent”underlined the prosecutor, who estimated that the young woman had “did what she could”.
Alves’ lawyer, for her part, requested the acquittal of her client, arguing that he could not “know that the complainant had withdrawn her consent”.
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According to the indictment, Alves, who was then in Barcelona after participating in the World Cup in Qatar, was at this nightclub with a friend. After offering champagne to the complainant, her cousin and a friend, he allegedly invited her to dance, then to accompany him to an adjoining room with a toilet. Alves would then have forced her to have sexual relations, according to the prosecution, which describes a “situation of anxiety and terror” for the young woman.
Symptoms of post-traumatic syndrome
This version was corroborated on Monday by the complainant’s friend and cousin. She “was crying desperately” and wanted to leave the nightclub saying that Alves had made him ” much trouble “, said her friend. According to the cousin, the young woman goes out “barely from home” since the attack and is taking antidepressants.
For her part, the complainant testified Monday behind closed doors to protect her identity, sheltered behind a screen to avoid any visual contact with Alves. His voice had been altered and his face pixelated on the recording, intended for the judges’ exclusive use, in case it leaked. On Wednesday, a psychologist who saw the victim months after the incident confirmed that she had symptoms of post-traumatic syndrome.
The friend who accompanied Alves during this evening, as well as the player’s wife, had, for their part, insisted on Tuesday on the state of intoxication of the accused. He “smelled of alcohol” And “when he entered the room, he bumped into several pieces of furniture and collapsed on the bed” before falling asleep, Joana Sanz said.
One of the most successful footballers in history, Dani Alves enjoyed the most glorious period of his career at Barcelona, between 2008 and 2016, where he won twenty-three trophies. The player, who also played for Sevilla (Spain), Juventus Turin (Italy) and Paris Saint-Germain, was playing for the Mexican club Pumas at the time of his incarceration. This club, with which he was under contract until the end of last season, then immediately dismissed him.