Two French international rugby players accused of raping and beating an Argentine woman – who has since been hospitalized – will be charged in the case, a judicial source told AFP on Thursday.
Hugo Auradou20, and Oscar Jegou, 21, were arrested on Monday in Buenos Aires after the woman accused them of raping her several times and savagely beating her in a hotel room in the city of Mendoza after a match.
They denied the accusation and stated that sexual relations with the woman were consensual.
The players were transferred on Thursday by car from Interpol headquarters in Buenos Aires to Mendoza, where they are expected to be formally charged on Friday.
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old woman’s lawyer, Natacha Romano, said her client was hospitalized on Thursday after feeling unwell emotionally and physically “because of everything that happened.”
Psychologist Nicolas Yungman, who was not treating the woman, told local media that her symptoms as described could be indicative of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The woman will receive treatment at a health facility for 24 to 48 hours, Romano said.
– Home prison? –
Auradou and Jegou will spend Thursday night in a police detention unit and will be presented to prosecutor Cecilia Bignert at 9am local time (12pm GMT) on Friday, Martin Ahumada, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, told AFP. Mendoza.
Upon being charged, the pair could be detained until a hearing 10 days later to determine whether they will have to await trial in custody.
Within 10 days, the pair will be able to submit a request for parole or house arrest, according to Ahumada.
The penalty for sexual assault in Argentina ranges from six to 15 years, according to the penal code. The sentence can increase to 20 years in the case of two attackers.
Romano told AFP on Wednesday that his client suffered “ferocious” violence at the hands of her attackers in a hotel room, with injuries to her face, back, breasts, legs and ribs, as well as several bite and scratch marks.
The woman claims to have been raped “at least six times” by one of the men and once by the other, according to the lawyer.
She would have tried to escape several times.
– ‘The violence was fierce’ –
The accusations, which left French rugby reeling and dominated headlines in Argentina, occurred during a tour of South America by the French team.
The alleged attack took place on Saturday night at the Hotel Diplomático in Mendoza, where France players and staff were staying after defeating Argentina in a test match.
Romano told AFP that the woman went with one of the men from a nightclub to a hotel room, where she alleges she was held against her will and abused for several hours.
“The violence was fierce,” Romano said. “There is more than one crime to investigate.”
Lawyer Rafael Cuneo Libarona, who represents the players, arrived in Mendoza on Wednesday and said the “sexual relations” were “consensual”.
“There are witnesses who saw her leave (the hotel), there are cameras that saw her leave, apparently no injuries were seen in the images,” Libarona – who is the brother of the country’s Justice Minister, Mariano Cuneo Libarona – told journalists. .
Romano told AFP that “the overwhelming proof that there was no consent is the victim’s body” and the wounds she has.
If the men are charged, the lawyer added, she will ask the court to place them in protective custody.
The charge, Romano said, should be rape with use of violence.
The president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), Florian Grill, who is in Argentina, told AFP that the players have “a very different version” of events from that of the woman, with “many inconsistencies”.
“We are not judges, we are not investigators, but we think that the Argentine justice system should analyze the case very quickly,” he said.
Aradou and Jegou were replaced by lock Mickael Guillard and flanker Judicael Cancoriet for Saturday’s second test match against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
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