Brazil’s Dani Alves indicted on sexual assault charge

BARCELONA — Former Barcelona and Brazil defender Dani Alves was formally indicted on Wednesday on costs of sexual assault of a girl in a Barcelona nightclub in December, and his lawyer mentioned the participant wouldn’t sluggish the method down by interesting in opposition to the indictment.

The decide mentioned she had discovered proof of wrongdoing by the 40-year-old participant, who says he had consensual intercourse with the girl.

Alves was arrested on Jan. 20 and has been held in a jail exterior Barcelona with out bail. If discovered responsible, he might face a jail sentence of 4 to fifteen years.

“Dani Alves is upset with the narrative of the facts … he disagrees with it,” Alves’ lawyer, Cristobal Martell, instructed reporters minutes after his consumer appeared earlier than the Barcelona courtroom.

“He has also said that he will not appeal due to his desire to expedite the judicial process,” Martell added.

The prosecution should now submit formal costs to the courtroom, whereas the defence will current its allegations in writing. After that, a date for the beginning of a trial might be set.

Alves is predicted to stay in custody awaiting the trial. His bail requests have been denied as a result of he’s thought-about a flight danger. The participant had provided to show in his passports and put on a monitoring machine.

A decide ordered Alves to be jailed after analyzing the preliminary probe by authorities and listening to testimony from the girl, witnesses and Alves.

Alves’ legal professionals unsuccessfully tried to discredit testimony by the girl and different witnesses by presenting safety digital camera footage on the nightclub. The courtroom has mentioned that any flirting mustn’t “in any way justify an eventual sexual assault.”

Under Spain’s sexual consent regulation handed final yr, sexual assault takes in a wide selection of crimes from on-line abuse and groping to rape, every with totally different attainable punishments. A case of rape can carry a most sentence of 15 years.

Alves received 42 titles throughout his profession, together with three Champions Leagues with Barcelona and two Copa Americas with Brazil. He performed in his third World Cup final yr in Qatar.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used on this report.