The 39-year-old woman accusing French rugby players Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou of aggravated gang rape “attempted suicide” this Friday morning, revealed one of her lawyers Mauricio Cardello. “On Friday, around 3am, she tried to end her life,” explained her other lawyer Natacha Romano on Canal El Nueve, a television channel in Mendoza. “She was in the car with her father, who was able to avoid the tragedy.” A few hours earlier, Romano explained to Radio Mitre that his client was “out of danger” and that this would be her second attempt to end her life, without specifying when the first one took place.
The lawyer specifies that the complainant “was taken care of from 8 am (this Monday) by the psychiatric service of a public hospital, accompanied by her father”. “A psychiatrist and a psychologist made an assessment of her, she adds. She will have another appointment on Wednesday. We will see what the psychiatrist says, whether or not she is in a condition (to carry out the assessments to be included in the file). It did not seem prudent to us to reveal what had happened but we have no other means left because of the statements of the defense.”
Without giving further details on his client’s state of health, Mauricio Cardello confirmed that she “will not attend the medical examinations” scheduled for Tuesday as part of the investigation. On Friday, the complainant, a mother of two from Argentina, did not attend the psychological and psychiatric examinations scheduled for the morning in Mendoza. These constitute a key element in the case. Mauricio Cardello had initially mentioned “a scheduling problem for the health professionals” who were supposed to discuss the results of the expert reports, before highlighting his client’s “gastric problems” to justify her absence from the tests. Rafael Cúneo Libarona, representing the two rugby players, had then denounced “a ploy (by the prosecution) aimed at slowing down the judicial process”.
The defense lawyers were planning to file a request for dismissal of the case as early as Friday with the Mendoza public prosecutor’s office, once the results of the expert reports had been added to the file. Before resolving to wait four more days. Although no new date has yet been set by the local prosecutor’s office, the French lawyers have decided to maintain their strategy. “We are still going to file the request (to drop the charges),” announced German Hnatow, who is defending the two accused.
Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, both 21, who were placed under house arrest from July 17 to August 12, were conditionally released two weeks ago by the Mendoza Public Prosecutor’s Office. The latter considered that “the complainant’s first version (her statement dated July 7) was weakened by various pieces of evidence,” including testimonies, CCTV footage, audio messages and the conclusions of the forensic report. The prosecution also noted “the existence of notable contradictions, inconsistencies, gray areas and even insufficient explanations” in the case file, which was considered too weak to justify the two players’ continued detention under surveillance.
Still under investigation, the Pau second-row and the La Rochelle third-row are prohibited from leaving Argentina and from approaching the complainant during the investigation. The acts of which they are accused allegedly took place on the night of July 6 to 7 in room 603 of the Diplomatic Hotel in Mendoza, following a festive evening following the test match won by the French XV against the Pumas (28-13). The two players proclaim their innocence, acknowledging a consensual sexual relationship with the alleged victim but denying any act of violence.