Soccer star Dani Alves is sentenced to more than 4 years in prison for sexual assault
Dani Alves, one of the most successful soccer players of his generation, was found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub and sentenced to four years and six months in prison on Thursday.
BARCELONA, Spain — Dani Alves, one of the most successful soccer players of his generation, was found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub and sentenced to four years and six months in prison on Thursday.
Besides disgracing the former Brazil and Barcelona right back, the conviction was applauded in Spain as a victory for a pioneering sexual liberty law that emphasizes the lack of consent of the victim as key to determining sex crimes.
A three-judge panel at the Barcelona Provincial Court convicted the 40-year-old Alves of sexual assault for the incident on Dec. 31, 2022.
The court ordered Alves to pay 150,000 euros ($162,000) in compensation to the victim, banned him from approaching the victim’s home or place of work, and from communicating with her by any means for nine years.
Alves was in the courthouse to hear the verdict and sentence, and his lawyer, Inés Guardiola, said he was “calm and collected.”
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