Probes in Neymar case brought to an end
Police Commissioner Juliana Lopes Bussacos, of São Paulo’s 6th Police Station for Women, closed the investigations on the rape and assault allegations by model Najila de Souza against football player Neymar Júnior. She recommends against charging the Paris St.-Germain forward.
The report following the investigation was submitted Monday (Jul 29) to prosecutors, who have 15 days to come to decision.
“I decided against an indictment as evidence is lacking. The footage at the Paris hotel was not included in the record, but […] I determined that the images do not add up indispensable proof for the investigation. [This] does not stop the criminal prosecution from taking place,” Bussacos said.
The footage to which she referred, which de Souza argues confirms the rape, is said to be stored on the tablet stolen form her apartment—another incident brought under scrutiny by the police.
Inquiry
The police inquiry was opened following a report filed on May 31 by de Souza, who told Bussacos that she met the player on a social platform and, after two months exchanging messages, Neymar invited her to go to Paris for a visit, with flight tickets and hotel expenses covered. De Souza arrived on the evening of May 15, and later the same night the forward was in her room.
De Souza said the player was not in his regular state, and forced her to have sex with her without a condom, allegations strongly denied by the football star. On the following day, Neymar was in the same room and was attacked by the her. The model taped the encounter and claimed she was looking for evidence she had been meeting him. Regarding the moments she slapped Neymar, which can be seen in the footage leaked during the investigations, she said she was paying back for his assault from the previous night.
Over the course of the inquiry, the commissioner said, de Souza was heard three times and Neymar once, in addition to 12 witnesses. The evidence collected in the case includes medical reports and examinations, data extracted from de Souza’s phone as well as her son’s tablet, which was handed over to the police by her former partner.
