By Gerardo Romero
22 Feb 2024, 08:06 AM EST
The long wait is over and the iconic Brazilian footballer, Dani Alves, has been found guilty this Thursday of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman at the Sutton nightclub in the city of Barcelona on December 30, 2022; For this reason, the Barcelona Court has handed down a sentence of four years and six months in prison for this crime that has already kept him in prison for more than a year.
A panel of three Thursdays representing the Provincial Court of Barcelona considered “proven that the victim did not consent and that there are elements of evidence, in addition to the testimony of the complainant, to understand the rape as proven” in the decision that was published this Thursday, just two weeks after the trial in which the former player of FC Barcelona and the UNAM Pumas of Liga MX was present.
In addition to the sentence, Dani Alves will have to pay compensation of $162,000 dollars to the victim of sexual assault for the damage he did to her in the bathroom of the aforementioned nightclub; He was also banned from going near her home or the woman’s workplace and will not be able to have any type of contact with her for the next nine years.
It is important to highlight that according to the prosecution lawyers, the historic full-back of the Brazilian national team was not present in court to hear the verdict and sentence; The four years and six months of sentence for the player are much better than the nine years requested by the Prosecutor’s Office and the 12 years requested by the victim’s lawyer considering that he had caused serious psychological and physical damage to his client.
“The sentence must be evaluated; value it well. We have time to review everything. We are satisfied, because it is a sentence that recognizes the truth of the victim and the suffering that has occurred. We are satisfied for her and for everyone. We still have to assess whether the severity of the penalty fits the facts. The damage has not been repaired and will be fought if it has to be done,” said lawyer David Sáez.
After hearing the sentence, Dani Alves’ defense lawyer, Inés Guardiola, stated before the media outside the court that they will appeal to the sentence in order to achieve the release of Dani Alves and thus be able to put aside this complicated stage of his life.
“We are going to review the sentence, but I can tell you that we are going to appeal. We continue to believe in the innocence of Mr. Alves. He already knows the sentence and is whole. We will defend his innocence until the end,” Guardiola expressed in his statements.
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