Former Barcelona and Brazil defender Dani Alves was today sentenced to four and a half years for sexual assault and rape of a 23-year-old woman in December of 2022. The Brazilian maintained throughout the trial that he was innocent and the sex was consensual, but the court decided this was not the case.
Alves also had €150k in damages paid by Neymar Junior’s family as soon as the charges were levelled. The public prosecutor was seeking a sentence of 9 years, while the victim and their private representation wanted a sentence of 12 years – 4 is the minimum for the charge and 12 is the maximum. The 40-year-old has been ordered to pay all of the victim’s legal costs, has a restraining order from the victim for 9 years, and will be subject to probation for 5 years after his sentence is served. The judge considered that the payment of the damages was a mitigating factor, and thus halved the sentence.
However Alves could be out sooner, as per Relevo. After consulting a lawyer, they say that Alves could leave prison in January of 2026, if he has served three quarters of his sentence, and has shown good behaviour.
There are three degrees of inmates in Spanish prison. The first degree are considered dangerous and are confined most strictly to their cells. The second is considered a normal routine, with inmates allowed to work or study outside of their cells, and spend time outside. The third degree allows inmates to leave the prison during the day, provided they return in the evening to sleep in their cell.
In order to reach this third degree, inmates must show good behaviour and have accomplished a third of this sentence – in this case 18 months. Having been held in custody during the investigation and trial period after handing himself in in January of 2023, he would reach that bar in July of 2024.
