Dani Alves, a Brazilian football player, was found guilty on Thursday of sexually abusing a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 and was given a four and a half year prison sentence.
Additionally, Alves, who had insisted all along that the sex was consensual, was mandated to pay the victim 150,000 euros ($163,000) by the top court in the Catalan area of Spain.
The Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona, the court, said in a statement that “the sentence considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there is evidence, in addition to the plaintiff’s testimony, to consider the rape proven.”
Alves was to serve nine years in prison, according to the prosecution. Appeal can be made on the verdict. Since his arrest in January of last year, the 40-year-old former Barcelona defender has been detained on remand.
Gender violence has become a prominent problem in Spanish public conversation, and Alves’s profile has contributed to the case’s considerable attention.
Since a law was implemented in 2022 that increased the minimum jail sentence for violent assaults and made consent a crucial aspect in cases of sexual assault, it has become one of the most well-known trials in Spain.
Lawyer David Saenz told reporters outside the courthouse, “We are satisfied as the sentence recognises what we’ve been saying all along: that the victim was telling the truth and that she suffered.” He added that his team would continue to assess whether the sentence is appropriate given the seriousness of the crime.
For Brazil and teams like Barcelona, Sevilla, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain, Alves has won almost 40 trophies. Mexico’s Pumas UNAM sacked him after his arrest.
