Brazilian Police Recommend Against Charging Neymar With Rape

Police in Brazil have closed their investigation into the rape allegation against Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar, and recommend that prosecutors not bring charges against him due to a lack of evidence. The prosecutor’s office will have 15 days to “evaluate the case,” according to the AFP.

The allegations against Neymar first surfaced in June, when the Associated Press obtained documents detailing a May incident in a Paris hotel room. Neymar quickly denied the allegations, posting a video on social media where he admitted to having sex with the alleged victim, Najila Trindade, but claiming that it was consensual.

Neymar’s social media video also included screen captures of WhatsApp conversations with Trindade, featuring lightly censored images of the woman in various states of undress. Neymar may have run afoul of Brazilian law by releasing those images; a separate investigation into that matter is still ongoing.

The law firm first representing Trinidade withdrew from the case due to what they believed was a change in her story, citing an ethical concern over representing a case that they believed could be illegal defamation. Trinidade’s subsequent lawyer also withdrew after Trinidade accused the attorney of breaking into her apartment and stealing the tablet computer upon which Trinidade recorded a video of her and Neymar inside the Parisian hotel room the day after the alleged rape. Police have requested access to the tablet to view the full video, of which only a few seconds were released in the media, but Trindade has never supplied it.

Though the police recommended against pressing charges, prosecutors could still choose to pursue a criminal case against the athlete after reviewing the evidence acquired in the police investigation. The final ruling on whether or not Neymar will face charges will be made by a judge after the 15 day period for prosecutors to issue their evaluation.

[ AFP]