11:28 AM
Nine footballers, former players of the under-21 division of the Chilean club Cobreloa, were in preventive detention last Friday, May 3, after being accused of participating in the group rape of a young woman in 2021, the Prosecutor’s Office reported.
The footballers are accused of sexually attacking a woman when she attended a party on September 16, 2021 in the house where the youth players of the soccer club lived, in the city of Calama, about 1,500 km north of Santiago.
You may be interested: RTVC will broadcast Colombian Professional Soccer matches for free
The arrests were carried out for “facts constituting the crime of rape, committed against a victim, a woman of legal age”said the regional prosecutor, Juan Castro Bekios.
The athletes were detained on Thursday in the cities of Santiago, Calama and Osorno to be taken to the Calama court, where they were formally charged.
The Prosecutor’s Office identified the detainees only with their initials and maintained that they were all of legal age when the events occurred.
The judicial hearing was not public, because the investigation was declared confidential by the Public Ministry. The court granted a period of 120 days of investigation before starting a trial.
The case initially It had been closed after the victim gave up filing the complaint.
Cobreloa, the club from the mining city of Calama that competes in the first division of Chilean soccer, did not take legal action at the time either, believing that “It was not possible to prove that massive abuse or rape had been committed.”
The National Association of Professional Football (ANFP) expressed on Friday its total “repudiation and condemnation” regarding any act of violence or sexual abuse.
He said that he will have “the immediate sporting suspension of the players involved in this casewho are part of clubs associated with this institution.”
You may also be interested in: Mavericks destroy Clippers and Orlando forces seventh game against Cavaliers
The Chilean Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, stated that the arrests “are relevant to reinforce confidence in the institutions.” and in the advancement of a process that must continue until justice is achieved.”
