Two French rugby players charged with aggravated rape in Argentina

Two French rugby internationals were officially charged on Friday with the aggravated rape of an Argentine woman after she spent a night partying with friends after a game and, according to her, had consensual sex.

The defendants, Hugo Auradou, 20, and Oscar Jegou, 21, chose not to testify at a hearing in the city of Mendoza, where the rape is alleged to have taken place on Saturday after a match between France and Argentina.

In a statement, the public prosecutor’s office said it had charged the couple with “the crime of sexual assault with penetration, aggravated by the involvement of two people.”

If convicted, the players face prison sentences of between eight and 20 years.

The couple will remain in custody pending a hearing in 10 days to decide whether they should await trial in pretrial detention or under house arrest.

If they were granted house arrest, they would have to establish residency in Mendoza and would not be allowed to return to France, a spokesman for the city’s judiciary said.

The two men were arrested in Buenos Aires on Monday after a 39-year-old woman accused them of repeatedly raping and beating her in a hotel room in Mendoza after the game as part of the French national team’s South American tour.

The men deny the allegations and claim to have had consensual sexual relations with the woman.

Her French lawyer Antoine Vey expressed concern about the “fairly big media hype” surrounding a case that has caused shock in France and Argentina.

Vey said his clients deserve “the presumption of innocence, and that is not an empty phrase.”

– Raped “at least six times” –

The players were taken by car on Thursday from Interpol headquarters in Buenos Aires to Mendoza, about 1,000 kilometers to the west.

The 39-year-old woman’s lawyer, Natacha Romano, told AFP on Wednesday that her client had been abused by her attackers in a hotel room and had suffered injuries to her face, back, chest, legs and ribs, as well as bite and scratch marks.

The woman claims she was raped “at least six times” by one of the men and once by the other, the lawyer said.

She allegedly made several attempts to escape.

The attack is said to have taken place on Saturday evening at the Diplomatic Hotel in Mendoza, where France’s players and staff were staying after their victory against Argentina.

Romano said the woman walked with one of the men from a nightclub to the hotel, where she was allegedly abused for several hours.

“The violence was horrific,” Romano said. “There is more than one crime that needs to be investigated.”

Romano said her client was hospitalized Thursday after feeling emotionally and physically unwell “due to everything that happened.”

– “You are innocent” –

Another defense attorney, German Hnatow, told reporters that his clients would give a “completely different statement than the victim.”

He said his clients were “convinced of their version, they are calm because they know they are innocent, but of course they are worried about the whole situation they had to go through.”

Hnatow said he considered house arrest possible “as long as the risk of escape and the obstruction of evidence can be reduced.”

Lawyer Rafael Cuneo Libarona, who also represents the players, said the “sexual relations” were “consensual.”

“There are witnesses who saw them leave (the hotel). There are cameras that saw them leave. Apparently there are no injuries visible on the footage,” Libarona – the brother of Justice Minister Mariano Cuneo Libarona – told reporters.

But Romano said the overwhelming evidence that there was no consent was the victim’s body and the wounds she sustained.

Auradou and Jegou were replaced by lock Mickael Guillard and flanker Judicael Cancoriet for Saturday’s second game against Argentina in Buenos Aires.

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