Dani Alves proves his innocence over 'sexual assault' charges of a young woman

Former Barcelona star Dani Alves has successfully appealed his conviction for raping a woman at a Catalan nightclub. Last February, he received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence after a three-day trial in which three judges found him guilty of the sexual assault.

Public prosecutors had filed an appeal, advocating for a nine-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, private prosecutors representing the woman who accused him of rape at Sutton Nightclub in Barcelona in 2022 have requested a 12-year sentence.

Dani Alves proved his innocence 

On March 28th, the Catalan High Court rejected the appeals and acquitted Alves of the crime for which he was convicted in 2024. Since March of last year, Alves has been on bail. The ruling from the Catalan High Court was laid out in a comprehensive 101-page written document.

Alves was required to post €1 million in bail to secure his release from prison. As part of the conditions, he agreed to surrender his passports, adhere to a ban on leaving Spain, and report to the court every Friday.

He pleaded his innocence during his testimony on the final day of his three-day trial, asserting that the sexual encounter with his 23-year-old accuser was consensual. He emphasised that he would never hurt anyone.

“The Appeals Section of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia has unanimously upheld the appeal of footballer Dani Alves, who was sentenced by Section 21 of the Provincial Court of Barcelona to 4 years and 6 months in prison for a crime of sexual assault on a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub on December 31, 2022," read the statement of the Catalan High Court of Justice.

"The full bench of the Appeals Section, composed of judges María Angels Vivas, Roser Bach, Maria Jesus Manzano, and judge Manuel Álvarez, does not share the conviction expressed by the Barcelona Court and points out that its exposition contains ‘a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and contradictions regarding the facts, the legal assessment, and its consequences," the statement read.

“The court thus dismisses the appeals of the prosecution - which requested the partial annulment of the sentence and, alternatively, an increase in the penalty to nine years - and of the private prosecution - which sought to raise the penalty to 12 years - and acquits the defendant, nullifying the precautionary measures imposed,” it concluded.