A Spanish court announced Tuesday that Brazilian football player Dani Alves is set to go to trial on charges of allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at a nightclub last year.
“There was enough evidence to open the trial,” the Barcelona-based court said, considering the statements given to the court and the evidence presented in the investigation phase. A date for the hearings had yet to be set.
The 40-year-old Alves has been in pre-trial jail since January, when he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona on Dec. 30.
An investigative judge indicted him in August.
The former Barcelona defender has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he had consensual sex with the accuser.
Under Spain’s sexual consent law passed last year, the charge of 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 carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Alves won 42 football titles, including three Champions Leagues with Barcelona and two Copa Americas with Brazil. He played at his third World Cup last year in Qatar.
A judge ordered him to be jailed in January after analyzing the initial investigation by authorities and hearing testimony from the alleged victim, witnesses and the player himself.
All of Alves’ bail requests were denied because the court considered him a flight risk.
The player had offered to turn in his passport and wear a tracking device while awaiting the court’s decision.
Alves’ lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
