The heartbreaking testimony of the woman who accused French rugby players of rape: ‘I asked him to let me go home and the guy said no’

Last Monday, July 8, they were captured in Buenos Aires, Argentinatwo players from the French Rugby team accused of abusing a woman in a hotel room in Mendoza during the early hours of Sunday.

The victim, who ended up with physical and psychological after-effects from the incidentgave his testimony of how the events for which they were arrested occurred Oscar Jegou, 20 years old and Hugo Auradou, 21 years oldboth players of their country’s rugby team.

The arrest of the rugby players

According to the complaint rescued by the newspaper La Nación of Argentina, the cause was a “seriously outrageous sexual abuse with carnal access aggravated by being committed by two or more persons”The known account is full of details in which the victim recounts how the two men even ignored her requests for them to stop the abuse.

The two players were taken to Mendoza, where the incident occurred, before taking a flight to Uruguay with the entire French national team squad. The players were playing a match against the Argentine national team after the events described by the victim. They are now in detention waiting to give testimony about the serious accusations against them.

The woman was admitted to a Mendoza hospital on Thursday after suffering from a “general decompensation” as her lawyer told AFP.

The chilling testimony of the victim

According to the newspaper, the victim filed the complaint one day after the unfortunate events. At the beginning of her testimony, she says that between 2:30 and 3 am on July 7, she went out dancing with a friend in a Mendoza nightclub and an hour later they were granted access to an exclusive section of the venue.

After half an hour, she says, she saw a man who seemed attractive and they met to drink fernet, an alcoholic drink that the man prepared without her being aware. She also points out that he was very insistent on taking her to the bathroom: “I don’t know if he put something in my drink, but he induced me to drink,” she said. She added that the same man invited her to his hotel, the Diplomatic, for “a drink.”

Upon arriving at the hotel and in the room of the suspect, the woman was surprised to see no alcoholic beverages inside it and, as soon as they entered, the abuse began. “I asked him to let me go home, please, and the guy shook his head and said no.“She reported. After this, the man allegedly raped her and grabbed her tightly for hours, and at one point her partner even entered the room and joined in the outrageous act.

Among the injuries she had were bruises on her eye, bite marks, strangulation marks and damage to her legs because, she says, they dragged her across the floor and at times left her without oxygen. Finally, at 8:35 am on Sunday, he was able to leave and go home. In response to this complaint, She was asked if there was consent to which she replied no. He also said that he had asked them in Spanish and English to stop, but they simply shook their heads.

Brother of the Minister of Justice, the lawyer of the aggressors

Rafael Cúneo Libarona, the lawyer for the detainees, is the brother of Argentine Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, with whom he shared an office before his appointment. He said on his arrival in the city that he would request evidence that would change the investigation. “I believe them,” said the lawyer who was accompanied by the president of the French Rugby Federation, Florian Grill.

However, Alejandro Gullé, attorney of the Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza, mentioned that the fact that they are detained is due to the sufficiency of evidence that attests that the incident occurred as the victim reported. “If they issued the arrest warrant it is because there is sufficient evidence to support the arrest of these people and the charges that will be brought against them, so I have absolute confidence in the actions of the prosecutors. I have seen what there is and I think it is enough for the stage of the process we are at,” he said.

While the two men arrested for sexual abuse await their respective hearings, the French team continues its tour and is preparing to face Argentina again next Saturday after playing in Uruguay.