A new date for a new postponement? After having been postponed three times, including one last time to an indefinite date, the dismissal hearing in the Auradou-Jégou case has been set by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Mendoza (Argentina) for next Monday, November 25, at 9 a.m. hours, local time.
After the postponement of the last hearing on November 1, the justice system of the South American country was to examine an appeal filed by Natacha Romano, the lawyer of the woman accusing the two French rugby players of aggravated gang rape. She wanted to incorporate new elements into the file, including new testimonial statements and an ocular inspection of the Diplomatic Hotel, in which the alleged events took place. A request refused by judge Eleonora Arenas during a first hearing on October 18 and rejected on appeal this Friday by a collegiate court.
Return of Jegou in Top 14 with La Rochelle
Free but still charged to this day, second line Hugo Auradou and third line Oscar Jegou, both aged 21, have proclaimed their innocence since the start of this affair. This weekend, the latter officially made his return to the Top 14 with La Rochelle, a month after that of Palois on the pitch.
Both players acknowledge a consensual sexual relationship with the alleged victim but categorically deny any form of violence. The facts with which they are accused took place on the night of July 6 to 7 in a hotel in Mendoza, after a test match won by the Blues against the Pumas (28-13).
