House arrest for 3 of the Vélez Sársfield footballers accused of sexual abuse

Four footballers from the Argentine club Vélez Sarsfield were arrested preventively at the request of a prosecutor, after the testimony of more than three hours of a woman who reported them for sexual abuse in early Marchlocal press reported on Monday.

The prosecutor Eugenia María Posse requested the arrest of Uruguayan Sebastian Sosa, Paraguayan José Florentín and Argentines Braian Cufré and Abiel Osorio for 48 hoursuntil a judge decides whether to detain them while the case is pending.

The decision comes after the statement of the complainant in the criminal courts of Tucumán (northwest) under the “Gesell camera” system – a room equipped to allow observation with people-, the same Monday.

“At times he broke down because he had to remember the entire sequence of events he has experienced,” Patricia Neme, plaintiff lawyer, told the local press.

He further noted that there were “sufficient elements to request preventive detention”, since those accused have “economic means” to escape.

The Vélez Sarsfield clubwho had already separated the footballers from their squad hours after the complaint, announced this Monday in a statement the suspension of its contracts.

“The club reiterates its deepest concern about the reported facts, which are clearly contrary to the principles and values ​​of our institution. We continue to be at the disposal of justice so that the facts are clarified and we will continue to report the measures that are adopted” , he pointed.

If judge Lucas Taboada considers this Wednesday that the detention is not appropriate, the footballers will be released immediately.

The complaint of alleged sexual abuse had been made by a 24-year-old sports journalist for an event that occurred in the early hours of Sunday, March 3 in a hotel in Tucumán (northwest) where the Vélez team was staying.

In the complaint filed three days later, The woman says that she was invited to the place by Sosa through Instagram and that, once there, he also met the other three players.

“After having a few drinks she began to feel bad, very dizzy, so she lay down on one of the beds as if sleepy, it was then that without any consent they sexually abused her,” describes the document. It was an “aberrant act done in a herd,” the lawyer said in a statement later.

The plaintiff considers that was drugged and the results of the toxicological tests that were carried out could still take 20 days, indicated the newspaper Clarín.

A similar fact with Vélez players It happened in 2020 when A 28-year-old girl reported having been sexually assaulted at a party in which there were four footballers from that club and a youth coach.

Among the accused athletes was the world champion in Qatar-2022 and captain of the under-23 team, Thiago Almada, according to the complaint cited by the newspaper La Nación.