A Globo made a documentary about the case of former football player Robson de Souza, the Robinhoconvicted by the Italian courts for a case of gang rape in 2013. The production, which premieres on the 30th, features an interview with the victim, identified only as Mercedes.

She agreed to have her first name revealed, but did not show her face, and her voice was edited by the production team. The testimony was recorded entirely in a dark room in Albania.

“Time helps. Time is the best medicine. But it doesn’t erase it. It’s something you always carry within you”, said the young woman in a conversation in Italian with the series’ production team. The speech anticipated by Mônica Bergamo’s column, from Folha de S.Paulo.

The first episode of The Robinho Case, called Meu Nome é Mercedes, will be dedicated to a remembrance of the crime by the victim herself.

According to investigations by the Italian Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Albanian woman was drunk by Robinho and five other friends in the early hours of January 22, 2013. Unconscious, she was taken to the dressing room of a boat in Milan, Italy. At the time, the woman was 23 years old.

Only the former player and Ricardo Falco were convicted of the crime of sexual violence by the Italian courts in 2022 — the other four men accused of participating in the act could not be notified, as they left the country during the investigations. Their case was separated from the process.

The convictions of Robinho and Falco were determined in the third and final instance, that is, without further possibility of appeal. The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) decided that he should serve the nine-year sentence on Brazilian soil, and, since March of this year, he has been in Penitentiary 2 in Tremembé (SP).

Despite this, he always denied having committed any crime. The former player did not give an interview to Globo production. The broadcaster claims that it contacted him, as well as his wife and friends involved in the case, but none of them wanted to comment.

The other three episodes of The Robinho Case will also show excerpts from the interview with Mercedes, as well as details of the investigation and audio of Robinho’s dialogues with others involved in the crime. The production also presents testimonies from authorities and witnesses.

The series was produced by Globo’s Sports Documentaries Center. Directed by Rafael Pirrho and Carol Zilberman.