This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
Published on August 9, 2019, Brazilian prosecutors have dropped a rape case against football star Neymar, citing lack of evidence to contradict his claim of a consensual encounter.
The case against Neymar, a former Brazil captain and Paris St Germain striker, was sparked by a model's accusation of rape in a Paris hotel room in May.
Neymar denied the accusations, releasing private chats and lurid photos he had exchanged with the model, which he claimed showed a consensual relationship.
Prosecutors, led by Estefania Paulin, acknowledged that an amorous relationship existed between Neymar and the model, but could not prove that the encounter was not consensual.
“There was an amorous relationship,” Paulin said. “What was not proven is that there was violence in the sexual act.”
The decision to drop the charges is subject to a judge's approval, but Neymar's family has welcomed the move as a definitive end to the case.
“One more step was taken, indeed, a huge and definitive one, in the hard journey of this nightmare that we have lived in the last and never ending couple of months,” Neymar Sr. said.
“Son, let’s make our life move on and on, always with the head held high, the heart calm and the peace and quiet of the innocent.”
