Why does the Spanish court call the crime of which Daniel Alves is accused of sexual assault? understand the term

Right-back Daniel Alves was arrested this Friday in Barcelona, ​​accused of sexual assault by a 23-year-old woman. The crime allegedly took place in a nightclub in the early hours of December 30 to 31. Without the right to bail, he is in a specific detention center for preventive arrests. He will wait until the trial, which has not yet been set. It is up to appeal.

Sexual assault, a term used to refer to the accusation against the lateral, is a broad concept in the Spanish justice code. But, in a nutshell, it refers to all acts “that undermine the sexual freedom of another person without his consent”. They can vary in severity and, consequently, in terms of punishment, ranging from 1 to 15 years in prison.

The term gained this breadth last year, when a law dubbed “Only yes is yes” expanded the scope of the crime of sexual assault. From then on, all non-consensual sexual acts were considered violence.

The change aimed to end the difference between abuse and sexual assault, until then two distinct categories of crimes but with heavier typifications in the second case. The idea behind this is that the lack of consent of the victim is the central element for defining the nature of the crime.

Therefore, acts without the use of physical violence or even forced penetration, the most extreme case and of which Daniel Alves is accused, are all treated as sexual assault by Spanish justice. In the latter case, the penalty can be from 4 to 12 years, with the possibility of reaching 15 years if some aggravating factors established by the penal code are detected (examples: participation of more than one person, use of weapons, the victim is in a state of of vulnerability due to age, illness or physical disability, among others). See how the Spanish penal code defines the violation:

“When the sexual aggression consists of carnal access by vaginal, anal or buccal route, or the introduction of bodily members or objects by any of the first two routes, the person responsible will be punished as a defendant for rape with a prison sentence of four to 12 years” , says article 179.

the complaint

The Spanish newspaper El Periodico published, this Friday, the content of what would be the woman’s testimony to the Barcelona police. The crime allegedly took place in the early hours of December 30 to 31, at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona — one of the most exclusive in the city. The player and a friend would have invited the woman to enter one of the cabins. There, without her consent, the Brazilian would have taken her hand and placed it on his penis. According to her, Alves took her to the bathroom, where the story becomes even more impactful.

According to the vehicle, the woman reported that Daniel Alves locked the bathroom, sat on the toilet and forced her to have sex with him. She also says she was forced to perform oral sex on him. Finally, the player would have asked her to wait for him to leave first.

All these facts, according to the Spanish newspaper, would have occurred even with the woman’s resistance. The Brazilian would have physically attacked her to get it. That same night, she went to the police and underwent a medical examination at a hospital. The result would have detected lesions characteristic of a crime of sexual assault.