Almost three months after the reported events, the position of the prosecution was eagerly awaited. The Prosecutor’s Office of Mendoza, Argentina, ruled in favor of dismissal, on Friday, October 4, in the case of the two French rugby players accused of aggravated rape, the night of July 6 to 7, while the French XV He had just played a test match against the Argentine team. Events that allegedly occurred in a hotel room in Mendoza, where the players were staying. The defendants Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, both 21 years old, claim that the sexual relationship with the complainant, a 39-year-old Argentine woman they met at a nightclub, was consensual.
The prosecution’s request for dismissal, “due to doubt or lack of evidence”must be examined during a hearing scheduled for October 18 which rugby players will be able to attend virtually, confirms World Martín Ahumada, spokesperson for the Public Ministry of Mendoza. The judicial decision may be made on the same day, depending on the accusation, or in deliberation.
One of the Argentine lawyers of the two French rugby players, M.my Rafael Cuneo Libarona, receives the request from the Public Ministry “with satisfaction”. “There is a great need to protect women, women in Argentina and around the world. But I think we should also protect men who suffer false accusations.”says Worldclaiming innocence and “courage” of their clients.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, M.my Natacha Romano, for her part, mentioned “brutal sexual abuse”. Complaint request for dismissal “premature”. “We must continue the investigation because valuable evidence still needs to be provided.” she assures. “They mistreated me and considered me a piece of meat”accused the complainant in an interview broadcast by “Envoyé Spécial”, on France 2, in September, evoking “bruises around the eyes, on the face, on the outside and inside of the legs, (…) edema in the glottis and others in the left jaw.
“A story neither free nor spontaneous”
The request for dismissal comes shortly after a psychological and psychiatric expert report on the complainant carried out by a team commissioned by the prosecution. Their conclusions, dated September 24, appear to weaken the alleged victim’s story. The experience is worth it “a series of inconsistencies and contradictions (…) which in general paint an unlikely story” of the complainant, with “Contradictory and inconsistent content when explaining the situations you face”.
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