The judge Eleonora Arenas issued the dismissal of the French rugby players Oscar Jégou and Hugo Auradouaccused of sexually abusing a woman in Mendoza. The ruling comes after five months of investigation and leaves the athletes safe, who were detained on July 8 while traveling to Montevideo after a friendly with The Pumas. Justice had authorized his departure from the country in September.
The case began on July 7, when a 39-year-old woman filed a complaint of sexual abuse with aggravated carnal access, which led to the arrest of the players the next day. After spending almost 40 days detained in Mendoza, they were conditionally released on September 2, after the evidence collected during the investigation weakened the initial complaint.
Since then, the case continued its judicial course with appeals of the complaint and presentations by the defense, which finally led to the dismissal. The statements of the complainant and the evidence collected were questioned and according to prosecutor Gonzalo Nazar, who initially led the casethere were contradictions in the women’s testimonies as well as changes in their stories about the events.
Nazar highlighted that these inconsistencies weakened the complaint and led to the conclusion that there were not sufficient elements to support the accusation. ANDDefense lawyer Rafael Cúneo Libarona stressed that the evidence showed that the players acted with the consent of the complainant.: “The honor of the players and the prestige of French rugby are safe.”
In addition, he told the media that they are evaluating with the rugby players’ families the possibility of initiating legal action against the woman for false accusations.. Finally, although the ruling was in favor of the rugby players, the complaint has the possibility of appealing to a court of second instance.
Justice enabled the departure of the French rugby players accused of sexual abuse in Mendoza from the country
The Mendoza Public Prosecutor’s Office authorized the rugby players to return to their country in September, after a measure taken by the deputy criminal prosecutor, Gonzalo Nazar, who authorized the athletes’ departure from the country. However, this Tuesday the judge Elenora Arenas will hold a hearing in which it will resolve two claims made by the complainant’s lawyers.
The first of them is directly related to the rugby players leaving the country, since They requested that the psychological expertise be expanded to the two playersand if the magistrate so decides, they must remain in Argentina for it. On the other hand, the defense requested the recusal of Dario Noraprosecutor for Crimes Against Sexual Integrity and the head of the Prosecutor’s Office, Daniela Chaler.
Source: Ambito
