A court document revealed on Thursday that a Spanish prosecutor is seeking a nine-year prison term for former Barcelona and Brazil soccer player Dani Alves, who is set to stand trial on charges of sexual assault against a woman in Barcelona last year.
According to the document, Alves allegedly violently attacked a woman in the bathroom of the VIP area in a Barcelona nightclub in the early hours of Dec. 31. He has been in prison since his arrest on Jan. 20.
Initially, Alves denied having any sexual encounter with the woman, but later claimed that the encounter was consensual.
The prosecutor is also requesting restraining orders for Alves after the jail term and is seeking damages worth 150,000 euros ($163,605.00) to be paid to the woman.
Back in August, a court in the Barcelona area formally indicted Alves after finding evidence of wrongdoing by the 40-year-old player. The court later decided there was enough evidence to send him to trial, although no date has been set yet.
Under Spanish law, claims of rape are investigated under the general accusation of sexual assault, with potential prison sentences ranging from four to 15 years upon conviction.
($1 = 0.9168 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Ken Ferris)
