Lawyer Ester Garcia Lopez, who is charge of defending the woman who has pressed charges against Daniel Alves for an alleged sexual assault in a nightclub in Barcelona last December 30, made clear that her client would turn down a possible settlement offer.
A potential plea bargain could see the former Barcelona right-back avoid conviction. Alves is currently in custody without bail in the Catalan capital.
In an interview published on Thursday by the Brazilian website UOL, Garcia stressed that her client has “firmly” and repeatedly rejected the possibility of receiving compensation from his alleged assailant.
The alleged victim is in a good financial position and only wants justice to be delivered.
“Her phrase was, ‘If there’s compensation money in between, I’m not going to hire you’,” the lawyer said.
“She, from the first minute, told me ‘No’. Nobody knows that.”
However, the lawyer said she fears that “they’ll start to exert media pressure so that she reaches a point where she says ‘I can’t take it anymore’” and ends up accepting an eventual settlement offer.
Dani Alves was arrested on January 20 in Barcelona, when he presented himself to testify for the alleged sexual assault which allegedly occurred on December 30 in a nightclub in Barcelona.
The court ordered the unconditional imprisonment without bail for Alves, who is now in custody at the Brians 2 jail in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Barcelona.
Following his arrest, Pumas parted ways with the 39-year-old right-back, who signed for the Mexican club in July 2022 in his bid to prepare for the 2022 World Cup. —Marca
