Robinho is finally convicted of gang rape in Italy

Striker Robinho was convicted this Wednesday (19), in the third and final instance of the Italian Justice, for the crime of gang rape, committed nine years ago in Milan, when he played for Milan. With the sentence, which is final, he is found guilty and must serve the sentence of nine years in prison.

The conviction and sentence were also confirmed for the player’s friend Ricardo Falco. As on the other occasions, neither of the two defendants was present at the trial, which took place in the 3rd Criminal Section of the Supreme Court of Cassation in Rome.

In the two previous instances, they denied the crime. Robinho’s lawyers maintained that there was no evidence that the relationship with the victim – an Albanian woman who is now 31 years old and lives in Italy – was not consensual.

At Wednesday’s hearing, which began around 10:30 am (6:30 am GMT) and lasted about 30 minutes, the defense lawyers’ appeals were refused. They were trying to reverse the conviction in the second instance, by the Milan Court of Appeal, in December 2020. In this final phase of the process, the Court of Cassation analyzed exclusively technical aspects, without going into the merits of the matter.

After closing the hearing, the five judges turned to the other cases scheduled for the day. Then they met to issue the sentence.

Before the session began, Alexander Gutierres, one of Robinho’s defense lawyers in Italy, told journalists that the case was flawed, that the player was innocent and that he was “massacred by the media”.

Now, after the definitive conviction of Robinho and Falco, a new phase of the case begins, for the decision on the fulfillment of the prison sentence. The Brazilian Constitution prevents the extradition of its citizens to countries where the crimes have been committed.

However, Brazilian legislation provides in the Migration Law (13.445/17), articles 100 to 102, the transfer of execution of sentence for cases in which extradition is not possible due to nationality. In theory, the Italian authorities need to ask the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice to carry out the sentence in the country.

The crime

The case took place in the early hours of January 22, 2013, in a nightclub in Milan.

According to an investigation by the Public Ministry, Robinho, Falco and four other Brazilians practiced group sexual violence against the victim, who was drunk by them and unconsciously taken to the establishment’s dressing room, where she was raped several times. Because they left Italy during the investigation, the other four men could not be notified, and their case was dismembered from the proceedings.

The accusation was based on the victim’s testimony and on intercepted telephone conversations with the authorization of the Italian Justice, included as evidence in the process. In November 2017, Robinho and Falco were convicted in the first instance, in Milan, of gang rape, according to articles 609 bis and 609 octies of the Italian penal code, which determines imprisonment from 8 to 14 years. At the time, Robinho played for Atlético-MG.

Defense lawyers appealed, and a new trial was held in December 2020, when the sentence was confirmed by the second instance.

Shortly before, in October 2020, Globoesporte.com revealed the content of the wiretapping. In them, Robinho and friends make it clear that they knew the victim was unconscious. In one of the most explicit lines, the attacker says: “I’m laughing because I don’t care, the woman was completely drunk, she doesn’t even know what happened”.

The disclosure caused the suspension of an agreement between Robinho and Santos, which had announced him as part of the club until February 2021. The striker has since been away from football.