On Tuesday, a panel of three appeals judges in Mendoza made a decision to dismiss the rape charges against French rugby players Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou. This ruling upheld a previous decision from a lower court made in December. The charges were brought against the pair following an incident that occurred after their first international match for France against Argentina in Mendoza in July of the previous year.
The allegations stemmed from a 39-year-old woman whom the players met at a nightclub after the game. She accused them of a violent assault that took place in a hotel room. However, Jegou and Auradou maintained that the encounter was consensual and that it followed a night of drinking.
Following their arrest, the players spent over a week in preventive custody in Mendoza, followed by nearly a month under house arrest. They were eventually permitted to return to France in September after the prosecutors expressed doubts about the strength of the case against them.
The appeals judges in Mendoza cited a “lack of elements to support a serious accusation” in their decision to dismiss the charges against Jegou and Auradou. Despite this ruling, the accuser’s lawyer, Natacha Romano, has stated that they intend to appeal the decision to the highest court in the province of Mendoza, and potentially to the Supreme Court of Argentina if necessary. Romano has expressed a commitment to pursue all available avenues of appeal, including the possibility of involving the Inter-American Court for Human Rights.
Despite the legal challenges they have faced, Jegou and Auradou recently made their return to the field, being included in the lineup for France’s Six Nations opener against Wales. Their journey through this legal ordeal has been a tumultuous one, but with the dismissal of the charges, they can now focus on their rugby careers once again.
