The 39-year-old woman accusing Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou of aggravated gang rape will be heard this Tuesday, August 6 by the Mendoza public prosecutor’s office, Natacha Romano and Mauricio Cardello, her two lawyers, announced this Thursday to Le Parisien – Aujourd’hui en France. This information was confirmed by the defense counsel. The hearing before the prosecutor in charge of the case, Darío Nora, is set for 9:30 a.m. local time (2:30 p.m. in France), specify the lawyers of the alleged victim. As a result, the hearing of the two French rugby players, initially scheduled for the same date, will finally take place two days later, on Thursday, August 8, starting at 8 a.m. local time (1 p.m. in France).
Charged with aggravated gang rape since July 12, Pau second-row Hugo Auradou and La Rochelle third-row Oscar Jegou, both aged 21, have never yet spoken before the courts. They are currently under house arrest, with electronic bracelets, in Mendoza.
The facts of which they are accused allegedly took place during the night of Saturday 6 to Sunday 7 July, in a five-star hotel in the city in the centre-west of Argentina, where the French XV had won a test match against the Pumas (28-13). The two players proclaim their innocence, acknowledging a consensual sexual relationship with the complainant and denying any form of violence. If proven, the facts are punishable by eight to twenty years in prison.
