Rugby players charged with rape in Argentina: justice continues Tuesday the examination of the dismissal of the case

The Argentine justice system is continuing its examination on Tuesday of the request for dismissal of charges against Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, the two French rugby players charged with aggravated rape in July in that country and who are hoping to see the case closed after numerous postponements of hearings and procedural appeals.

After a first half-day of hearing behind closed doors at the judicial center of Mendoza (west) on Monday, the lawyers of the parties indicated that at the request of the judge the debates would resume on Tuesday.

This second day must be devoted to the plaintiff, a 39-year-old Argentinian.

French rugby players Hugo Auradou (left) and Oscar Jegou leave the house where they were under house arrest in Mendoza on August 12, 2024 © AFP – Andres LARROVERE

On Monday, the prosecution argued for nearly three hours for a dismissal, that is, for the prosecution to be dropped, as it had announced in October at the end of the investigation. The players' lawyer Rafael Cuneo Libarona argued the same way for more than an hour.

Me Natacha Romano, the plaintiff's lawyer, will also speak at length on Tuesday, after which the players' defense “will have the right to reply and have the last word,” she recalled.

Judge Eleonora Arenas, presiding over the hearing, could make her decision immediately, but could also deliberate on it in a few days, lawyers said.

– A “victim accused of lying” –

Auradou and Jegou, 21, remain charged with aggravated rape because it was committed in a group, alleged events that occurred on the night of July 6 to 7 in a hotel in Mendoza, where the French XV had just played a test match against Argentina, followed by a “third half”.

Both have maintained from the start that the sexual relations with the complainant, whom they met in a nightclub, were consensual and without violence. The complainant's lawyer, however, denounced a rape with “terrible violence”.

La Rochelle's French wing third row Oscar Jegou poses with young supporters after the Top 14 match against Stade Français, at the Marcel-Deflandre stadium in La Rochelle, November 2, 2024 © AFP – XAVIER LEOTY

If consent, or not, is at the heart of rape cases, the gap in this case appeared spectacular between the radically opposed versions of the protagonists. The only convergence: there were indeed sexual acts in the hotel room between the players and the complainant, and in an alcohol-fueled context.

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At the end of August, the prosecutor's office, authorizing the players' return to France, considered that “the initial accusation has lost its force”. Previously, the players had spent a little over a week in preventive detention, then almost a month under house arrest.

Me Cuneo Libarona praised Monday a “very, very good” presentation by the prosecutor's office at the end of “an extremely productive investigation”: 18 witnesses, 13 video or audio elements, 6 doctors or psychologists providing expert assessments, he listed.

Natacha Romano (right) and Carlos Gonzalez, the lawyers for Argentina who accuses French rugby players Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou of aggravated rape, upon their arrival at the Mendoza court, November 25, 2024 © AFP – Andres Larrovere

“For the defense, there was no crime of any kind” and “yes, there was indeed consent from this young lady 40 years,” he summed up.

Previously, her colleague German Hnatow had summed up the case for AFP as a “scandalous denunciation”, a “malicious lie (…) with financial aims” for compensation.

Me Romano deplored a hearing where “they accused a victim of lying”, instead of “evaluating what happened between the four walls” of the chamber.

She said she feared “a complaint for false testimony, a request for compensation” to come against her client, because “it is the style” of the players' lawyer, she denounced.

– The “post-Mendoza” in rugby –

Having denounced for months a “partiality” of the justice of Mendoza, Mr. Romano successively tried to have the two co-prosecutors in charge of the investigation, then the judge, challenged. Appeals dismissed.

She said Monday that she continued to hope “that the motion to dismiss the case will be rejected, that this case will go to trial, and that they will continue to investigate as they should.” With a new prosecutor.

Pau's French second row Hugo Auradou (right) passes the ball during the Top 14 match against Montpellier, in Montpellier, on November 23, 2024 © AFP – Sylvain THOMAS

11,000 km from Mendoza, French rugby continues to digest the shockwave of “the night of Mendoza” – where another player, Melvyn Jaminet, had made racist remarks on his social networks, which earned him a suspension.

Three victories for the Blues during the autumn tour have given primacy back to the field, but the “post-Mendoza” promised by the French rugby authorities is underway: on the living environment, alcohol consumption, the running of tours, prevention, possible sanctions.

Having returned to France at the beginning of September, the two accused have resumed competitive rugby: since October for Auradou, November for Jegou. Both played again this weekend in the Top 14.

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