The legal battle continues in the rape case in Argentina involving two French Rugby players. While the defense of Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou invoked a coagulation disorder of the complainant as the basis for a potential dismissal of the case, the latter’s lawyers included in the file the testimony of a hematologist affirming that this was not the case. But the Argentine courts rejected it and maintained the hearing scheduled for October 18.
Last week, the alleged victim’s lawyers said she did not suffer from a bleeding disorder. This illness is invoked by the players’ defense to explain the bruises found on his body, while the complainant claims that these marks are the result of violence inflicted by the players.
The prosecution decided to dismiss the case on October 4
Her lawyers submitted to the prosecution a document in which an independent hematologist testified, stating that the complainant “did not suffer from the disease“, and demanded a suspension of the hearing on October 18. But the Mendoza public prosecutor’s office told them that this statement from the hematologist was not “not useful” and did not change the course of the case, according to the file obtained on Saturday by AFP.
On October 4, the Mendoza public prosecutor’s office decided to dismiss the case – that is, to dismiss the case before the trial – in addition to a request to the same effect made earlier by the defense. Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, both aged 21, are charged with aggravated rape committed in a meeting for alleged acts that occurred on the night of July 6 to 7 in a hotel room in Mendoza, where the XV of France was coming to play a test match against Argentina.
The two players have maintained from the beginning that the sexual relations with the complainant, met in a nightclub, were consensual. And they deny any violence, while the plaintiff’s lawyer spoke of “terrible violence” against her client, “savagely beaten”. First detained then placed under house arrest, they were released in mid-August, then authorized to leave Argentina pending the end of the investigation. They returned to France on September 4, and have since resumed training in their clubs. Hugo Auradou played again in the Top 14 championship on October 5 with Pau.
