Brazil police investigate Neymar for contents of video he posted after rape allegation
Neymar’s social media responses to a Brazilian woman’s allegations of sexual assault have him in more trouble with the police, according to ESPN Brazil.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar was accused of rape Friday. The incident allegedly took place May 15 in Paris after Neymar and the accuser exchanged Instagram messages to meet up.
Neymar took to Instagram afterward in a since-deleted video addressing the accusation and what he shared in it has him in more trouble with police in Brazil.
Neymar’s video may violate Brazilian law
Neymar took to Instagram in response to the rape allegations to try and clear his name. He said he was being extorted and shared WhatsApp messages between him and the woman as evidence.
Neymar, 27, shared private messages sent between the two after the encounter, meant to show they were friendly in the aftermath, per the Associated Press. They began in early May and stopped May 16, the day after the alleged assault, according to Deadspin.
But it’s the photographs he shared that may violate Brazilian law. Deadspin reported Neymar shared videos and photos of the woman in “various states of undress.” The video was reportedly slightly blurred.
Neymar may have violated a Brazilian law that deems it illegal to "offer, exchange, provide, transmit, sell or exhibit for sale, distribute, publish or divulge, by any means — including mass communication or computer or telecommunication — photograph, visual or other audiovisual record containing a scene of rape or of vulnerable [people] or that makes an apology or induces its practice, or, without the victim's consent, sex scene, nudity or pornography."
Per ESPN Brazil, he could face up to five years in jail. Agents from the cyber-crimes unit in Rio de Janeiro were at the Brazil national team’s training complex Sunday, per the Associated Press, and the communications department confirmed they were there to “investigate the supposed disclosure of a video on the part of Neymar.”
Neymar reportedly shared video to avoid ‘snowball’
The seven-minute video has been deleted — the latest post is photos from the pitch titled “joy and nothing more” from two days ago — and Neymar’s father, in a TV interview with Globo Esporte, explained why it was put up in the first place.
“This is a tough moment,” said Neymar Sr., who is also his agent. “If we can’t show the truth quickly it will be a snowball.”
Part of the video was captured prior to deletion.
Neymar denies rape accusations in his latest Instagram video 👇 pic.twitter.com/bnBndfTugO
— Goal (@goal) June 2, 2019
“I was exposed to this and I am here to face the situation because any news about me causes a lot of noise and everybody wanted me to answer,” Neymar said in the video, per Goal’s translation.
Neymar accused of raping woman in Paris
Brazilian authorities are already investigating a rape claim filed by the unnamed woman. The report was filed in Sao Paulo when the woman returned since she was reportedly too “emotionally shaken” to report the alleged crime in France.
She alleges Neymar and his people flew her to Paris after they initially met in France and exchanged messages. He allegedly arrived drunk and per the police report, “Neymar became aggressive and, with violence, had sexual intercourse against the victim’s will.”
“There was a relationship between a man and a woman between four walls. On the next day nothing happened,” Neymar said as translated by the Associated Press. “I hope investigators read the messages and see what happened.”
Neymar Sr. said his son was extorted and he has evidence it was blackmail. Per ESPN Brazil, he said he’s preparing a legal defense if needed.
Neymar and the Brazilian team are preparing for Copa America in mid-June. Brazil plays Honduras in a friendly June 9 before the group stage begins against Bolivia on June 14.
More from Yahoo Sports:
