By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Brazilian football star, Dani Alves is facing up to 12 years in prison for an alleged sexual assault at a Barcelona nightclub, with his trial set between October and November this year, DailyMail.com reports.
Alves, 40, has been in custody at Brians 2 since January 20 after a 23-year-old woman alleged he had raped her in a toilet at the well-known Sutton club.
The defender, formerly of Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, has seen several requests to be released on remand rejected and he will remain behind bars.
The most recent appeal was turned down by judges at Barcelona’s high court. It was gathered that there are concerns Alves would flee the country if released, potentially back to his native Brazil, which doesn’t extradite citizens abroad.
Now, according to a further report from El Periodico, Alves’ case has been given a trial date. The exact timings are yet to be officially confirmed.
If convicted, Alves could face a sentence ranging from six to 12 years, with the Law on the Guarantee of Sexual Freedom having come into effect last October.
He had been detained in January after flying back to Spain from Mexico, where he was playing for UNAM Pumas, following the death of his wife Joana Sanz’s mother.
In a TV interview before his arrest, Alves claimed he had never met his accuser. However, he later changed his story after being held, claiming there was no assault and that there had been consent, and is continuing to plead his innocence.
Indeed, Alves has admitted to cheating on his wife but denies any sexual assault.
Initially, it was reported that Alves had been accused of putting his hands down the woman’s underwear inside the club before it emerged that the accuser had alleged she had been slapped round the face and raped in the toilet.
