However, according to a source close to the case, the decision could only take place on Thursday, September 5, the date of a future hearing that must validate the last documents missing from the investigation – psychiatric expert reports.
As for the authorization of an exit from Argentina, “we will express what we think”, but despite this advisory opinion, if the prosecution decides to lift the ban “this will be effective and they will be able to leave”, Me Cardello clarified.
Recovered passports
Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, two 21-year-old internationals, are accused of aggravated rape during a meeting. The alleged events took place on the night of July 6-7 in a hotel room in Mendoza, where the French XV had just won a test match against Argentina.
The two players claim that the sexual relations with the plaintiff, a 39-year-old Argentinian, who met them in a nightclub, were consensual. And he denies any violence, while the plaintiff's lawyer spoke of “horrendous violence” inflicted on their client.
First placed in detention after the indictment, Auradou and Jegou were, in mid-July, placed under house arrest in Mendoza, then released on August 13 by the prosecutor's office, although they were still prohibited from leaving Argentina. The two players, who recovered their passports, left Mendoza on Tuesday for the capital Buenos Aires, 1,000 km away, and an unknown place of residence.
The victim still allowed
In Mendoza on Friday, the applicant failed to appear at a hearing for the third time in a row, a week after an attempted suicide, disclosed by her lawyers on Monday. She would continue to be hospitalized, one of them, Me Mauricio Cardello, said on Friday, without being able to specify her recent state of health.
The players' lawyers filed a motion to dismiss on Tuesday.