Neymar Relieved as Judge Closes Rape Case
Neymar denied an accusation of rape made by a Brazilian woman and prosecutors have been unable to bring charges against him.
A Brazilian judge has accepted the recommendation of prosecutors to end the investigation into rape allegations against Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar due to a lack of evidence.
Investigators at the Sao Paulo police station where a Brazilian woman made the accusation in May confirmed on July 30 the case had been passed to public prosecutors after concluding an indictment was not possible.
Prosecutors have opted against pursuing the matter further, agreeing with the investigators' decision, and judge Ana Paula Vieira de Moraes closed the case.
"We decided in favour of closing the case because there is insufficient evidence," prosecutor Flavia Merlini said at a news conference.
"The police investigator asked her to plug her phone into a computer so she could see the video [supposedly showing an attack], but she [the alleged victim] didn't want to do that. She also refused to hand over her phone, and later she said it had been stolen," co-prosecutor Estefania Paulin added.
"The case will be closed as long as no new evidence is presented. If evidence comes up and we come to understand it is relevant and important, the case could be reopened."
Neymar vehemently denied claims he raped the woman in a Paris hotel room on May 15.
The alleged victim claimed to have exchanged messages with Neymar on social media before meeting him at the Sofitel Paris Arc Du Triomphe.
She said she returned to Brazil two days later, but was too emotionally shaken to report the incident until May 31.
In an attempt to clear his name, Neymar subsequently posted a video to Instagram in which he claimed the allegations were part of an extortion attempt, showing his WhatsApp history with someone purported to be his accuser.
In response to Friday's decision, Neymar returned to Instagram: "This will be a chapter in my life that I'll never forget. For many reasons. The main one 'THE DAMAGE' it caused to me, to my family and to all the people that really know me.
View this post on Instagram Esse vai ser um capítulo jamais esquecido na minha vida por muitos motivos, o principal deles “ O DANO” causado em mim, na minha família e nas pessoas que realmente me conhecem. Vou ser sincero e não vou dizer que estou feliz, mas sim aliviado. A cicatriz vai continuar pra me lembrar o quanto o ser humano é capaz de fazer coisas boas mas também de fazer coisas RUINS! Sim, meu mundo desabou e fui pro chão ... mas como diz uma lenda no jiu-jítsu “para muitos o chão é o fim de tudo, pra nós é só o começo” Que seja o começo não só pra mim, mas pra todos que sofreram esse tipo de falsa acusação e PRINCIPALMENTE pra toda MULHER que é REALMENTE vítima deste ato. O meu desejo é que vocês sejam fortes, lutem e consigam tudo que todas vocês merecem! Obrigado Deus POR TUDO, sempre 🙏🏽❤️ A post shared by 3n310ta 🇧🇷 👻 neymarjr (@neymarjr) on Aug 9, 2019 at 6:35am PDT
"I'll be sincere and I won't say I'm happy, but I'm relieved. The wound will always be here, so that I can remember how the human being is capable of doing good things but also BAD ones!
"Yes, my world has fallen apart and I fell to the ground ... but as a jiu-jitsu legend says: 'For many people the ground is the end of everything but for us that's just the beginning.'
"May it be the beginning not only for me but for all those who suffered this kind of false allegations and MAINLY to all WOMEN who are REALLY a victim of this act.
"My wish is that you can all be strong, that you can fight and that you can get all you deserve. Thank God FOR EVERYTHING, always."
Neymar could yet face action for cybercrime, as the video appeared to include intimate messages and images of another person, which is illegal under Brazilian law.
He testified in the investigation in Sao Paulo on June 7.