The Brazilian prosecutor's office endorses Robinho serving nine years in prison for rape in Brazil

The Federal Public Ministry of Brazil endorsed this Monday that former Brazilian soccer player Robson de Souza, better known as Robinho, will comply in the country with the sentence of the Italian court that sentenced him to nine years in prison for rape.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
01 March 2023 Wednesday 10:28
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The Brazilian prosecutor's office endorses Robinho serving nine years in prison for rape in Brazil

The Federal Public Ministry of Brazil endorsed this Monday that former Brazilian soccer player Robson de Souza, better known as Robinho, will comply in the country with the sentence of the Italian court that sentenced him to nine years in prison for rape. "For the body there is no legal impediment to the transfer of the execution of the sentence," says a letter from the Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, Carlos Frederico Santos, which was sent to the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), the Prosecutor's Office said in a release.

The pronouncement of the Prosecutor's Office, at the request of magistrate Maria Thereza de Assis, instructor of the case in the STJ, is the first step for the sentence to be approved in Brazil. "Given the impossibility of extradition of Robinho to Italy", due to a constitutional principle of Brazil, on February 17 the Italian Justice formalized the request to "approve the sentence", cited the Prosecutor's Office.

The deputy attorney indicated that the approval is based "on respect for the principle of not applying two sentences for the same crime." In the case of Robinho, "the former soccer player will be notified at the indicated home address" in the process, added Santos. Robinho's defense lawyer, Leonardo Pantaleão, came to speak in local media in favor of serving the sentence in Brazil.

In October, Italy had requested the extradition of the former Real Madrid and Milan attacker, 39, after the conviction for the gang rape of a young Albanian woman in Milan in 2013, when he was a member of the Rossonero club. At that time, the ultra-conservative Jair Bolsonaro governed, of which Robinho was a supporter.

According to the investigations, Robinho allegedly made the woman, then 23 years old, drink until she was unconscious to later force her, together with a group of friends, to have sex in a nightclub cloakroom without her being able to oppose. The events occurred while the footballer had a contract with Milan, in which he was for four seasons (2010-2014).

The Italian Supreme Court upheld the nine-year sentence decided by the Milan Court and confirmed by the Court of Appeal. In addition to Robinho, his friend Ricardo Falco - also sentenced to nine years in prison in Italy - and four other men who were not identified participated in the rape.