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Brazilian footballer Dani Alves has been sentenced to four years and six months in prison for the sexual assault he committed at the Sutton nightclub on the night of December 30, 2022. The judge has considered the facts proven and has also imposed 5 years on him. of supervised release, removal and incommunicado detention of the victim for 9 years and 6 months, as well as compensation of 150,000 euros and payment of the costs of the trial.

The court considers it proven that “the accused abruptly grabbed the complainant, threw her to the ground and, preventing her from moving, penetrated her vaginally, even though the complainant said no, that she wanted to leave. This complies with the type of absence of consent, with the use of violence, and with carnal access,” they add.

The private accusation, “satisfied”

Once the different parties have left the Barcelona Court, from the private accusation, a representative of the complainant (Ester García is next to the victim), has indicated that they are “satisfied” because “the truth of the case has been recognized.” victim, that there was a sexual assault.”

During Wednesday morning it was learned that Alves had been summoned by the section 21 court of the Barcelona Court, although the exact reason was not specified. It could be a resolution on the request for provisional release until the sentence is known or, on the contrary, it could be because the verdict on the case had already been decided. Finally, the latter was the reason, coinciding with the deadlines that many experts in judicial matters anticipated.

Inés Guardiola: “We are going to resort”

Inés Guardiola, Alves’ lawyer, upon leaving the Barcelona Court, assured that “we are going to appeal to the sentence. I continue to believe in the innocence of Daniel Alves. We are going to appeal. Now we have to study the sentence.” Furthermore, she has indicated that “Mr. Alves is whole. He already knows the result.”

This was the trial

Between February 5 and 7, when Alves had already been in Brians 2 prison for more than a year, the trial in which he appeared as a defendant was held. In the first of the three sessions, the complainant and five witnesses testified: two of them the victim’s companions and three workers from the Sutton nightclub. The statement of the attacked young woman was behind closed doors and at all times there was a screen that separated her from Alves.

The most anticipated appearance of the second date was that of Joana Sanz, the footballer’s wife. Expectation was at an all-time high, as her attitude towards Alves had changed over time and the possibility of her testifying against her had even been raised. However, in the end this was not the case and she joined the defense version indicating that her husband came home very drunk.

On the last day, the images obtained by the cameras at the scene were shown, in addition to the expert evidence of the case. The last to give his version was Alves who prevented his family from witnessing the trial from the guest gallery. He alleged that the sexual relations were consensual and that they were “enjoying and that’s it, nothing more.”

Four requests for provisional release

Before the trial was scheduled for sentencing, Alves’ lawyer, Inés Guardiola, filed a new request for her client to be granted provisional release at the expense of the trial. On this occasion, due to the haste with which the sentence was made official, no response was necessary.

It was the fourth time that Alves requested this release measure despite having received three ‘no’s in response. The argument of both the Prosecutor’s Office and the judge was the obvious risk of flight caused by the footballer’s economic muscle and the lack of an extradition treaty with Brazil. In fact, a few days ago a fellow prisoner in his cell confessed that if they had given him the provisional one, “he would take it and go to Brazil.”

What the parties requested

The trial against Dani Alves is one of the most high-profile trials for sexual violence since the approval of the well-known ‘Only yes means yes’ law. Under the new legislation, the second most successful footballer in history faced a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison, in addition to significant compensation. That same punishment was requested by the prosecution.

For its part, the Prosecutor’s Office rejected the request for the maximum sentence and opted for an intermediate sentence consisting of nine years in prison. Away from both options, the defense exercised by Inés Guardiola requested an acquittal after seeking a reduction in sentence justified by Alves’ high alcohol consumption on the night of the events.

During the last months before the trial, the three parties involved in the case worked on the possibility of reaching an agreement that would avoid seeing Alves sitting in the dock. All the options for this pact to come to fruition depended on the footballer admitting his guilt, something that has never occurred. Ester García, the victim’s lawyer, said at the end of the first session of the trial that the negotiations were not concluded because there were discrepancies with the years in prison.

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