MADRID (AP) — Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves has agreed to turn in his passport and wear a tracking device if he is set free pending the sexual assault investigation against him, his lawyers said in an appeal filed to a Spanish court this week.
Alves was provisionally detained in January after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a nightclub on Dec. 30. A judge ordered the veteran player to be jailed without bail after analyzing the initial probe by authorities and hearing testimony from Alves, the alleged victim and a witness.
Alves has denied any wrongdoing.
In the appeal obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, Alves offered to report to the court and to authorities as often as required, including daily, and to not leave Spain. He would not get within 500 meters (yards) of the accuser or her home or work place, and would not communicate with her in any matter. The appeal said he would agree to wear a device allowing authorities to constantly monitor his whereabouts to make sure he complied with his obligations.
The appeal said Alves would pay bail in the amount established by the judge, in addition to giving up his travel documents to authorities. The judge had denied Alves bail in part because he was deemed a flight risk.
Alves' lawyers, which includes the same one who worked for Lionel Messi in his tax fraud case, claimed that the accusations alone made by the alleged victim were not enough to prompt his detention without bail.
They said there were inconsistencies in her testimony, including when she said she was scared of Alves and his friends at the nightclub even though security cameras showed that she and her friends were in a “festive” way.
They also point to images that showed that the accuser was not forced into the bathroom where she claimed to have been assaulted.
Alves initially denied having sex with her but later admitted to a consensual sexual encounter.
The lawyers said in the appeal that he initially denied that he had sex with her because he wanted to protect his wife and children.
The accuser has reportedly relinquished her right to seek financial compensation from Alves if he is eventually found guilty.
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 violent rape can receive a maximum sentence of 15 years.
The 39-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.
Alves had his contract with Mexican club Pumas terminated after his arrest. He was detained after returning from Brazil to Spain and agreeing to talk to authorities about the case. His lawyers said Alves has also lost sponsorships because of his arrest.
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