Chronology of the 402 days of the 'Alves case': from Sutton to the bench

The alleged sexual assault by Dani Alves of a 23-year-old girl at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona comes to trial, 402 days later. The oral hearing begins this Monday, February 5 at the Barcelona Court, although the possibility of a last-minute agreement is on the table: in exchange for a substantial reduction in the sentence (the Prosecutor's Office requests nine years in prison), Alves would recognize the facts and would pay significant compensation to the victim. The parties are preparing for the trial, but conversations remain open. Waiting for the outcome of the Alves casethese are the milestones that have marked a judicial process that has ended with a world-famous footballer behind bars and that has subjected a victim to unprecedented public exposure due to the dissemination, by the former FC Barcelona footballer's entourage, of a video with your image and your name.

December 31, 2022

sexual assault

The alleged sexual assault occurred shortly before 4:00 in the toilets of the VIP area of ​​the Sutton nightclub. After accessing his usual table with a Brazilian friend, Dani Alves asked a waiter to invite three girls whom he had seen dancing. Among them was the victim, a 23-year-old girl. The security images show how, for about 15 minutes, the group dances while Alves approaches the girl, with whom he has brief conversations. Afterwards, he invites her to go through a door to enter a suite room, a room with a sofa and television and a bathroom. In that space where there are no cameras is where the alleged violation occurs. After 16 minutes inside the bathroom, Alves leaves it, followed by the girl, who talks to her cousin and her friend and they head to the exit. In the hallway, the girl bursts into tears, which draws the attention of a security guard. The young woman is invited to a room to explain what happened and there she reluctantly tells that she has suffered a sexual assault. Sutton activates the sexual assault protocol. A Mossos d'Esquadra patrol goes to the room and takes his statement; Afterwards, she is transferred to the Hospital Clínic, where a forensic doctor examines her. The hospital center notifies the court on duty, which opens proceedings.

January 2, 2023

Declaration and investigation

The victim testifies before the Mossos d'Esquadra and now outlines what will be her definitive account of the events: that she entered the bathroom voluntarily but later she regretted it and Alves did not let her leave. The player tried to force her to perform fellatio on him, he slapped her and insulted her and finally he turned her around and penetrated her with great force until he ejaculated inside her. In that statement, which was already firm and forceful as the court's would be, the victim nevertheless expressed doubts about being believed due to the public relevance of the character. In successive days, the Mossos gathered witnesses (waiters, guards, friends), analyzed the security cameras, collected biological samples (such as the semen found in the sink and on the victim's body) and prepared to arrest Alves. taking advantage of the fact that he returned from Mexico (where he played with the Pumas club) to attend his mother-in-law's funeral.

January 20, 2023

Alves contradicts himself and enters prison

After being arrested, Alves appears before the judge and gives up to three different versions of what happened as the evidence collected is presented to him: first he says that he does not know her, then that they were together in the bathroom without anything happening and finally that She “pounced” on him to perform fellatio on him. The judge highlights these “contradictions” compared to the firmness of the victim's statement, who also appears that day. The judge appreciates “much more than sufficient indications” of crime, due to the high penalties and because Alves does not have roots in Spain and lives in Mexico, a flight risk. She sent him to provisional prison without bail, a situation in which he has remained since then despite the efforts of his defense to reverse the jail. That same day, the Pumas club terminated the player's contract, which was followed by other companies that had sponsorship and advertising contracts with him.

January 31, 2023

First attempt to escape

Alves has signed one of Barcelona's star criminal defenders, Cristóbal Martell, who presents an appeal for the footballer to be released from prison. He offers to hand over the passport, to be prohibited from leaving Spain and to approach the victim and even to wear a telematic bracelet to be able to geolocate him and monitor where he is in real time. He offers, if that is not possible, provisional release on bail and emphasizes that Alves has “deep roots in Barcelona.” The lawyer already tries in this first appeal to dismantle the victim's story by contrasting his statements (which describe the fear that he already felt in the VIP area) with what the surveillance cameras show. He accuses her of “narrative distortion.” In a hearing a few days later, the defense already speaks of “consensual sex,” although it does not go into whether or not there was penetration.

February 21, 2023

The judges do not believe Alves

The Barcelona Court overturns the appeal and orders that Alves, who is serving his first month in the Brians 2 penitentiary center, in Sant Esteve Sesrovires (Barcelona), remains behind bars. The magistrates say that there is a “high risk of flight” not only because of the sentence that can be imposed (it ranges between 4 and 12 years), but because there are “severe indications of criminality.” The player has enormous economic capacity that would allow him to “leave Spain at any time.” The investigation, they abound, is progressing at a good pace, so it is not possible for him to be released.

April 17, 2023

Alves admits that there was penetration

At his own request, Alves is released from prison and taken to the City of Justice to testify again. He offers what will now be his more or less definitive version of the events: he admits for the first time that there was penetration (it was difficult to deny it, since the Mossos found traces of semen in the girl's vagina), but he says that it was sex spoiled. He adds that there was “sexual tension” and mutual interest between him and the 23-year-old, and that they voluntarily entered into a relationship. The footballer acknowledges that he lied in his first statement, the one that led him to prison, but alleges a reason that is intended to be convincing: he did not want his wife, the model Joana Sanz, to find out about her infidelity. .

June 12, 2023

Lost chance

New setback for Alves, who loses almost all hope of getting out of jail before the trial. First (in May) the investigating judge decides to keep him in prison and points out that he has already made several statements “and in each of them he has given a different version of the events.” The judge was very harsh with the evidence provided by the defense, including an analysis of the security cameras whose conclusions “have nothing to do with the facts.” Shortly after, the decision is ratified by the Barcelona Court. For the magistrates, Alves not only has not distorted the victim's statement, but the evidence coll
ected by the Mossos (especially the footprints found in the toilets) “confirms” his story.

June 21, 2023

Interview in 'La Vanguardia'

With no options in court, Alves plays the card of public image. From prison, he grants an extensive interview to The vanguard in which he gives his version of the events. He says that he has a “clear conscience” and, curiously, he does not ask for forgiveness from the victim, but rather forgives her for having said something that does not correspond to reality: “I forgive her, I still don't know why she did all this, but I forgive her (…). What happened and did not happen there inside her, only she and I know.” Alves assures that he has “a clear conscience” and insists that “it was evident from the movements and looks that there was an attraction” between the two.

July 31, 2023

One step away from the bench

The investigating judge, Anna Marín, closes the investigation and prosecutes Alves upon concluding that there is sufficient evidence of a crime. She imposes a bail of 150,000 euros to cover possible compensation to the victim and warns her that, if she does not pay, she will seize her assets.

November 23, 2023

Petition for nine years in prison

Once the Barcelona Court opens oral proceedings, the Prosecutor's Office releases its indictment. It requests a sentence of nine years in prison for a crime of sexual assault with penetration and the payment of compensation of 150,000 euros to the victim for the “physical and psychological consequences” and for the “moral damages suffered” by the girl. He also requests that, once the sentence has been served, he be placed on supervised release for ten years and be prohibited from approaching less than a kilometer from the young woman. The private prosecution raises the request to 12 years in prison.

January 3, 2024

Video of the victim

A video montage of the victim appears on social networks. It is spread by people around Dani Alves, including his mother. The video tries to discredit the young woman's version. In the images, where her full name also appears (one of the fears she had expressed), she is seen with friends in a leisure context. The montage asks how she is in that situation if she suffers from psychological consequences as has been proven in the instruction. His lawyer, Ester García, denounces the facts and a court in Barcelona opens proceedings.

February 5, 2024

The trial begins

The Barcelona Court schedules the trial for three days in February: 5, 6 and 7. The Prosecutor's Office and the victim's lawyer ask that it be held behind closed doors, but the magistrates reject it: only the statement of the victim will be held behind closed doors. victim. They dictate, however, other guidelines to protect her identity during the hearing. At the trial, in addition to the victim and accused, witnesses and experts are expected to parade to clarify what happened in Sutton. There is a possibility that the trial will not take place and will only be a formality if the parties (Prosecutor's Office, private prosecution and defense) reach an agreement. In recent months, that possibility has always been open and always requires Alves to recognize the facts. The discrepancy has centered on the prison sentence to be imposed: the defense wants the sentence to be about 3 years and be suspended, while the prosecution considers it unacceptable. The pact can be forged until the last moment before starting the trial.

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