Valencia forward Rafa Mir has been handed an 8.5-year prison sentence after being found guilty of sexual assault and battery following an incident in September 2024. Despite maintaining his innocence, a jury in Valencia delivered the guilty verdict on multiple charges.
The 28-year-old striker, who was on loan at his former club Valencia at the time, reportedly returned to his property early one Sunday morning with two associates and two women. The following day, a 21-year-old woman filed a police report accusing him of sexual assault.
Prosecutors had initially sought a 10.5-year sentence, including charges of sexual assault with bodily entry and battery. Mir contended that the encounter was consensual, but the court rejected this claim, sentencing him to 8.5 years. He was arrested and later released on bail.
The victim's testimony was deemed credible by the court, meeting criteria for evidence that outweighed the presumption of innocence, citing the absence of inexplicable details, plausibility, and consistency in her account. The victim was awarded €64,000 in damages, though Mir retains the right to appeal the verdict.
One of Mir's accomplices from that night, Pablo Jara, received a 2.5-year prison sentence and a €6,280 fine for sexual assault. Mir's case follows a string of high-profile sexual assault convictions in Spain, including those involving footballers Dani Alves and Hugo Mallo.
