Spanish court again denies Dani Alves' appeal to be freed while sexual assault probe continues
MADRID (AP) — Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves will remain in jail after a Spanish court on Monday denied another one of his requests to be freed on bail while an investigation into a sexual assault accusation against him continues.
The Barcelona court said Alves remains a flight risk and should stay detained until the investigation concludes. The court previously denied a similar request by Alves’ defense team in May.
Alves was provisionally detained in January after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona on Dec. 30. He has denied wrongdoing and said sex with the accuser was consensual.
A judge ordered the former Barcelona defender to be jailed without bail after analyzing the initial probe by authorities and hearing testimony from Alves, the alleged victim and witnesses. A trial date has not been set.
Alves’ lawyers had 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. But the court said in its ruling on Monday that the flirting should not “in any way justify an eventual sexual assault.”
The lawyers had reiterated that Alves was not a flight risk and would accept any court-imposed measures, such as turning in his passports and wearing a tracking device, if freed on bail. They said Alves and his family had plans to live in Barcelona, but the court dismissed the argument because his children were only registered as residents a few weeks ago.
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 receive 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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