Vélez case reaches boiling point | OneFootball

Three new hearings were completed in the case investigating the four footballers for alleged sexual abuse of a Tucuman journalist in March 2024. This is a new development in a case whose final sentence is expected in March 2026.

This Friday, in Tucumán, three new hearings were completed in the so-called "Vélez Case", which investigates an alleged sexual abuse by Sebastián Sosa, Braian Cufré, José Florentín, and Abiel Osorio in March 2024 against a Tucuman journalist.

One of the hearings, which lasted about 16 hours, was requested by the victim's legal representatives, who questioned the legality of the examinations conducted on the cell phones of two friends of the victim who are witnesses in the case. The professionals argued that the experts exceeded in data extraction and that for this reason, they should not be considered.

This request was opposed by the Public Ministry, the Prosecutor of the case, the assistant Osvaldo Martínez Terán, who stated that there was no illegality in the examinations and the defense lawyers of the four former footballers of "Fortín".

The results of these examinations were the basis of a complaint made by José Florentín in October of this year against national deputy Carlos Cisneros, lawyers Neme and Venditti, the victim and her father, three witnesses, and an employee of La Bancaria. In the so-called "Mirror Case", except for the parliamentarian, all are being investigated for false testimony and procedural fraud.

The footballers' defenders insist that there is sufficient evidence to consider that there was no sexual assault, but rather a consensual act. They highlighted that this theory is supported by the phone examinations, the psychological exam, and several testimonies. The prosecution opposed this, considering that it is merely an interpretation of the evidence in the file and recalled other evidence supporting the theory of abuse.

On the other hand, one of the plaintiffs reported in one of the hearings the leakage of information and demanded an investigation. According to reports, videos and images from files that should remain secret were leaked, as different hearings are conducted to preserve the privacy and rights of the victim and the professionals.

On Tuesday, the first resolution of the case

The judge, Paz Almonacid, decided that next Tuesday will give the resolution regarding the requests made in the last hearings: the request for exclusion of evidence by the prosecution, as well as the dismissal by the defense lawyers of the footballers.

Regardless of the magistrate's decision, both the prosecution and the defenses announced that they already have elements to challenge the resolution, and both parties have decided to appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice of Tucumán if the ruling of an Appeals Court does not satisfy them.

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