During his testimony in a trial on charges of sexual assault, Brazilian former footballer Dani Alves maintained that the encounter he had with a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 was consensual and that he did not act violently. He spoke calmly, but ended with tears in his eyes, stating that the woman had touched his genitals while dancing, willingly accompanied him to a restroom, and performed oral sex on him before engaging in sexual intercourse.
When asked if he forced her to have sex, acted violently, or did not allow her to leave the room, Alves denied this, saying, “Never. I am not that type of man. I am not a violent man.”
Alves’ testimony concluded three days of testimonies in the trial, which has now moved to the deliberation phase by a panel of three judges. The public prosecutor has accused Alves of forcing the woman to have sex without her consent and without using a condom. The 23-year-old woman testified behind a screen with her voice distorted to protect her identity.
The prosecutor is seeking a nine-year prison term for Alves and for him to pay damages worth 150,000 euros ($163,215) to his alleged victim. On the other hand, the complainant seeks a 12-year prison sentence for Alves. He was arrested in January last year and has since been held on remand.
Initially, Alves denied any sexual encounter with the woman whom he said he did not know. He later admitted that he had consensual sex with her in the restroom of a nightclub, explaining that he had initially denied it to protect his marriage. The case has drawn significant attention not only because of Alves’ profile, but also because sexual assault is a dominant political theme in Spain.
Two of the alleged victim’s friends testified in court that Alves groped them that night before allegedly sexually assaulting their friend. This case has the potential to have lasting implications for all involved, and it remains to be seen how it will ultimately be resolved. (Reporting by Joan Faus, editing by Andrei Khalip and Rosalba O’Brien)
