MADRID (AP) — A judge has decided to indict Dani Alves following an investigation into sexual assault accusations against the Brazilian soccer player, a Spanish court said Monday.
The judge concluded the investigation and found evidence of wrongdoing by Alves, who has been in custody since January on accusations he sexually assaulted a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona on Dec. 30.
Alves will be formally indicted after being informed of the judge's decision in court on Wednesday. Prosecutors will then specify the charges, and a trial date will be set for later this year or early in 2024.
The former Barcelona defender has denied wrongdoing and said that sex with the accuser was consensual. His lawyers did not immediately respond a request for comment on Monday.
Alves is expected to remain in jail awaiting the trial. His bail requests have been denied because he is considered a flight risk. The player had offered to turn in his passports and wear a tracking device.
A judge ordered Alves to be jailed after analyzing the initial probe by authorities and hearing testimony from the alleged victim, witnesses, and Alves.
Alves’ lawyers unsuccessfully tried to discredit testimony by the alleged victim and other witnesses by presenting security camera footage showing that Alves and the victim were flirting with each other at the nightclub. The court had said that the flirting should not “in any way justify an eventual sexual assault.”
Under Spain’s sexual consent law passed last year, sexual assault takes in a wide array of crimes from online abuse and groping to rape, each with different possible punishments. A case of rape can carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
The 40-year-old Alves won 42 soccer titles, including three Champions Leagues with Barcelona and two Copa Americas with Brazil. He played in his third World Cup last year in Qatar.
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