This archive report was first published on 25 August 2020.
Ronaldinho Freed After Four Months Under House Arrest ¶
On August 24, 2020, a Paraguayan judge granted Brazilian football superstar Ronaldinho his freedom after four months under house arrest in Paraguay.
Ronaldinho, 40, and his brother Roberto Assis were arrested in March 2020 for attempting to enter Paraguay using fake passports. They were initially detained in a Paraguayan jail but were later moved to house arrest after paying $1.6 million in bail.
According to Judge Gustavo Amarilla, Ronaldinho is free to travel to any country in the world but must inform the authorities if he changes his permanent residence.
His brother Roberto, who pleaded guilty to using a false document, is also a free man but has a criminal record.
Prosecutors had initially believed that Ronaldinho was involved in the plan to create the fake passports, but his defense team argued that he was unaware of the passports' irregularity and cooperated fully with the authorities.
Ronaldinho spent his 40th birthday behind bars and was released after six months, the maximum time allowed under Paraguayan law for investigations.
