It was consensual sex and he lied in his first court statement so that his wife, Joana Sanz, would not find out. That is the key content in the new statement by former FC Barcelona footballer Dani Alves this Monday before the judge of Barcelona Court No. 15, who is investigating him over the accusation of having raped a 23-year-old woman in the toilet of a VIP area at Barcelona's Sutton nightclub, on the night before New Year's Eve 2022. The Brazilian has been in prison since January 20th, and his lawyer, Cristóbal Martell, requested this second statement to clarify the accusations and, soon, he will again ask for his provisional release, arguing that the investigation is almost finished.
Alves's statement took less than half an hour, after his arrival at court from Brians 2 prison, in the custody of the Mossos d'Esquadra police, had been delayed by two hours due to an error in court communication. What is new in today's statement is that Alves has admitted that the sexual act consisted of penetration, not consensual fellatio, as he had initially claimed, according to court sources.
The three versions of Dani Alves
The former Barça star has given three different versions of what happened that night in the private area of the Barcelona nightclub. First, he denied even meeting the complainant. Then he asserted that nothing happened between them. And finally, he asserted that the young woman had given him fellatio but that it was consensual, and that he had denied it to hide the fact that he had been unfaithful to his wife. In this Monday's statement he admitted that penetration had taken place, with forensic testing already having found his biological remains in the complainant's vaginal area.
The complainant maintains that it was rape
Meanwhile, the statement by the complainant, who is pursuing a private prosecution with the lawyer Ester Garcia, has always been the same: she was the victim of a sexual assault. She told the nightclub doorman what had happened, and he attended to her and set in motion the protocol for sexual assault, with the Mossos police and the judge. Faced with Alves's changes to his statement and the "economic muscle" which made it easy for him to flee the Spanish state, the judge sent him to provisional prison without bail, a move that was ratified at appeal court level, and which means that as of April 20th he will have spent three months behind bars.
Alves claims that "maybe the girl felt offended"
Defence sources have reported that Alves has asserted that he is "respectful in his relationships with women and does not take any steps if he does not perceive sexual interest and a clear predisposition". In this regard, he said that "he did not initially explain what happened and denied sexual contact because his only priority was to save his marriage".
In his statement this Monday, he stated that he was with the three young women at the club and because of "the chemistry there", he proposed to the girl to go to a more private space, and she agreed: "They entered it separately and came out separately."
A spurious motive?
The footballer even said that "perhaps the girl got angry or offended" when he asked her to leave the bathroom separately, when he was asked why he thinks the woman reported him for sexual assault. It is a claim that introduces a key element to discredit the victim: that she has a spurious motive. In sexual assault investigations, where there are usually no witnesses, there are three fundamental elements that judges and prosecutors evaluate: that the victim's version is consistent, as it has been in this case; that supporting evidence is found (such as the DNA remains or her injuries), and that there are no ulterior motives when making the complaint, an aspect that has now been insinuated with respect to the complainant through the allegation that she might have felt offended that Alves did not show her more attention.
The footballer has reiterated to the judge that "everything that happened inside the bathroom was a free and voluntary action", even adding that she "didn't say at any time to stop". On the other hand, the complainant had injuries to her knees.
The flight risk
The Barcelona Audience court refused to provisionally release Dani Alves in February, given the high flight risk it perceived and the seriousness of the allegations (since rape is punishable by up to 15 years in prison), in addition to the various pieces of evidence that incriminated the former top footballer. The Brazilian's defence lawyer has until now attempted to assert that his financial capacity is more limited, since he was fired from the Mexican club over the affair and has had sponsorship contracts terminated. The lawyer has also maintained that Alves's meeting with the woman was not a panic situation, as she relates, although he admits that there were only the two of them in that small bathroom.
Following the new statement, his lawyer will soon ask once again for his release, since the trial could still be months away, even though provisional jail has already been stipulated.