Dani Alves jailed for 4.5yrs over sexual assault

Former Brazil footballer Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.

A Spanish court found him guilty of raping and pronounced the verdict on Thursday.

The ruling by three-judge panel in a Barcelona court followed a three-day trial this month. 

Alves, 40, denied any wrongdoing during the trial. He can appeal against the decision.

The court found Alves sexually assaulted his victim early in the morning of December 31, 2022, when she said he raped her in a bathroom of an upmarket Barcelona nightclub.

State prosecutors had sought a nine-year prison sentence for Alves while the lawyers representing his accuser wanted 12 years.

His defence asked for his acquittal, or if found guilty a one-year sentence plus €50,000 (£43,000) compensation for the victim.
Alves has been in jail since being detained on January 20.