Brazilian football legend, Ronaldinho freed on Monday, August 24, by a Paraguayan judge after spending five months in detention over a forged passport.
Judge Gustavo Amarilla also released Ronaldinho’s brother Roberto de Assis Moreira, detained for a month in jail and another four months under house arrest for the same charge.
The 40-year-old past World Cup winner “is free to travel to whatever country in the world he wants but he must inform us if he changes his permanent residence” for a period of one year, the judge said.
“He has no restrictions except for the fulfilment of reparations for damage to society.”
Ronaldinho accepted the terms of his release, which include payment of $90,000 in damages. His brother, who is also Ronaldinho’s business manager, must pay $110,000.
The judge elucidated that he was not declaring a “definitive dismissal” of the case but rather that Ronaldinho was benefitting from a “conditional suspension of the procedure.”
His brother was also given a two-year suspended sentence.
Prosecutors think Ronaldinho had no knowledge about the fake Paraguayan passports but they said de Assis Moreira was likely aware that the passports were false.
Before Monday’s trial the public prosecutor said that Ronaldinho displayed no “personal characteristics or criminal behavior that … would put society at risk.
“They flagrantly used a public document containing false content,” said Marcelo Pecci, one of the public prosecutors, who said it was a “very serious” offense.
De Assis Moreira must appear before a judge in Brazil every four months for two years and will have a criminal record.
