Spanish court overturns ex-footballer Dani Alves’ rape conviction on appeal

Dani Alves’ sexual assault conviction was overturned by a Spanish court, which overturned the decision.

Alves was given a four-year, six-month prison sentence in February of that year after being found guilty of raping a woman in a nightclub in December of that year. During the three-day trial, the former Brazil and Barcelona defender pleaded innocence.

There was “insufficient evidence,” the court determined on Friday, refuting Alves’s presumption of innocence.

In response to a gang-rape case that broke out at the San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona in 2016, the Alves trial was the first significant case to come up for trial since Spain overhauled its laws in 2022 to make consent a key component of defining a sex crime.

The “only yes means yes” rule in the “only yes means yes” rule of law explicitly states that consent must be an explicit expression of a person’s will. This makes it clear that passingivity or silence do not constitute consent.

However, the appeals court’s four judges unanimously decided to overturn the verdict. According to their ruling, the plaintiff’s testimony “differed significantly” from the evidence of videotape taken before the woman and Alves went to the toilet where she claimed he forced her to have sex without her consent.

Alves, now 41, was imprisoned from January 20th, 2023 until March 2024, when he was released after paying $1.2 million in bail while awaiting his appeal. Additionally, he gave his passports, but the prosecution argued against releasing him on bail due to a potential flight risk.

The victim’s lawyer requested that he serve a 12-year prison sentence while the prosecution requested that his sentence be increased to nine.

The Spanish Supreme Court in Madrid has the authority to take appeal of this ruling.

Alves won numerous titles with prestigious clubs, including Barcelona, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain, making him one of the most successful players of his generation. At the age of 38, he also assisted Brazil in winning two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal. In 2022, he won his third major title, the only other major title of his own. He briefly returned to Barcelona in 2022 after spending four years there between 2008 and 2016. He helped the team win three Champions Leagues and six Spanish leagues. He still lives close to the city.