Peñarol's response after Diego García is convicted of sexual assault | OneFootball

Diego Gonzalo García, Uruguayan midfielder for Peñarol, was sentenced this Tuesday in La Plata to six years and eight months in prison after being found guilty of “sexual abuse with carnal access” against a former field hockey player from Estudiantes, in 2021.

The trial, which began in mid-October in Argentina, consisted of five hearings in which various witnesses testified, as well as the complainant, the player, and other footballers who were part of that squad from the La Plata team.

After the verdict was read, an order was given for his immediate detention under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor, until the sentence becomes final. Upon hearing this decision, the player, who also played for Talleres de Córdoba and Patronato, fainted.

Peñarol’s decision

Peñarol, which had signed Diego García this year with a clause in his contract allowing for termination if he was found guilty in the sexual abuse case, will comply with the stipulated terms for the midfielder’s release.

Ignacio Ruglio, the club president, had already communicated this decision amid growing criticism for having given him a place in the club. “The issue of Diego García is one that the club has been sufficiently clear about. From day one we said that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. The moment the law declares him guilty, even if it’s in the first instance, Peñarol will terminate his contract, even if there are appeals pending. Until today that hasn’t happened, so under the law in our countries, he is innocent and has the right to work,” he had said before the verdict was known.

The crime that caused outrage in La Plata

The abuse for which Diego García was convicted occurred on February 24, 2021, when the victim, a field hockey player for Estudiantes de La Plata, went with a group of friends to a party organized by first-team footballers from the club at a house on the outskirts of the city.

The Uruguayan, who had joined the club in 2019 and had returned that season after a loan to Talleres de Córdoba, followed her to the bathroom according to the complaint, which was filed immediately, entered behind her, and attacked her sexually.

The victim first went to the police, then to the courts, and finally succeeded in having an oral trial against García for “sexual abuse with carnal access”, which was held in the Criminal Court V of La Plata. The player claimed in his defense that it was a “consensual relationship”, but there was evidence confirming the truth of the complaint. “The mechanics of the attack were clear: push, blow, immobilization, rape,” the prosecutor stated in his closing argument.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.