JUSTICE – She gives her version of events again. The Argentinian woman accusing the two French rugby players Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou of rape testifies in a report bySpecial Envoybroadcast this Thursday, September 12 on France 2 at 9:05 p.m.
Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jégou, accused of rape, are in France but the legal case is not closed
She recalls that night in July during which she says she was the victim of violence from the two internationals. The latter, still being pursued in Argentina, were allowed to return to France. Hugo Auradou even returned to his training center in Pau on Monday.
Two months after the start of this murky affair, Le HuffPost takes stock of what we know.
• What happened?
The alleged events allegedly occurred on the night of July 6-7 at the Diplomatic Hotel in Mendoza, in western Argentina, where the players of the French XV and their technical staff were staying. The Tricolores had just won a test match against the “Pumas”, the first selection in blue for Oscar Jégou and Hugo Auradou.
To celebrate their victory, the two 21-year-old Frenchmen spent the evening in a nightclub. Hugo Auradou met Soledad, 39, there. The latter says she agreed to follow him when he suggested she continue drinking alcohol at his hotel.
• What does the complainant say?
Interviewed by several media outlets, this mother of two children said she wanted to leave the hotel when she realized that there was no alcohol in the rugby player’s room. The player allegedly prevented her from doing so. From that moment on, “When he grabbed me by the hair and grabbed me violently, I no longer consented to anything. And I had no way out.”she told AFP. She details certain alleged acts of violence againstSpecial Envoy, in the excerpt to be seen below.
She claims that Oscar Jégou, who shared a room with Hugo Auradou, returned later. “Both of them hit me” et “sexually abused me,” she assures. She describes numerous injuries and says she suffers from “post-traumatic stress”.
On August 26, her lawyers announced that she had attempted suicide three days earlier, resulting in her hospitalization.
• What do the rugby players answer?
They deliver a radically opposite version. While they admit to having spent part of the night with the complainant, they claim that the sexual relations were consensual and deny any violence.
“I felt she had a lot of experience and took the initiative.”Hugo Auradou testified before the Mendoza public prosecutor’s office, according to Special Envoy. “She joined me in my bed […] I was very surprised but I didn’t refuse […] We had a shared pleasure”explained Oscar Jégou.
• What does the survey say?
The investigations have gathered numerous testimonies from that night. Videos and WhatsApp exchanges have also been analyzed. A forensic report, following an examination carried out on July 7, lists fifteen injuries on the complainant’s body.
At the same time, some elements of the file are filtering into the media, such as the video (to see below) of the complainant in the hotel elevator, after leaving the room. There she meets Patrick Arlettaz, one of the coaches of the French XV. “He didn’t see any signs of a blow, didn’t see her crying, complaining or being scared.”underlines German Hnatow, lawyer for the players.
Audio messages exchanged with a friend after the incident, in which the complainant initially appears to speak positively about rugby players, have also been published. “When I go out, I enjoy it. He had me in stitches.”she said in one of these messages, the authenticity of which was confirmed by her lawyers at Parisian. Recalling his meeting with “a French rugby player”she speaks of a « mec super grand », “too beautiful”.
As the conversation progresses, his messages become more serious, as revealed The Team. Describing her injuries, she said she had “had to take a Diclofenac”an anti-inflammatory. Before announcing that his lawyer ” is filing the complaint. And since I can’t move and I’m covered in bruises, she’s probably going to take me to the public prosecutor’s office so they can take pictures of my whole body.”
Photos of his bruises and scratches were also released. Already dismissed by the expert as « incompatible » with the alleged blows, the players’ lawyers will reply. Me Antoine Vey, French lawyer for the players, recalls that the investigation “subsequently established that the complainant had concealed from the courts the fact that she suffered from Willebrand disease”a clotting disorder that can predispose you to bruising or bleeding.
• What has the Argentine justice system done so far?
The rugby players were arrested on July 8, the day after the complaint was filed. Charged with aggravated rape because it was committed in a group, they were initially placed in detention for a little over a week. Then the prosecution, taking into account the “level of evidence and [de] the absence of procedural risk”authorizes their house arrest in mid-July, under electronic bracelet.
Auradou and Jégou were then released on August 12, with a ban on leaving Argentina. The prosecution points out “the existence of notorious contradictions, inconsistencies, gray areas and even insufficient explanations” in the complainant’s version. On September 3, the courts authorized them to return to France, considering that “the initial accusation has lost its force”.
• And now ?
The two players are still being prosecuted for aggravated rape and face up to twenty years in prison. Their lawyers have filed a request for dismissal of the case. No date has yet been set for the examination of this request.
In the meantime, the green light given to their return to France is accompanied by rules: to present themselves if summoned to the Argentine consulate in France, to be heard virtually “as often as required”or even return “to report to Mendoza if asked”.
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