Peñarol respond after Diego García’s conviction for sexual assault | OneFootball

Diego Gonzalo García, Uruguayan midfielder of Peñarol, was sentenced this Tuesday in La Plata to six years and eight months in prison for being found guilty of "sexual abuse with carnal access" of 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 team from La Plata.

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

The decision of Peñarol

Peñarol, which had signed Diego García this year with a clause in his contract allowing it to be terminated if he was declared guilty in the sexual abuse case, will comply with the stipulated terms for the midfielder's disassociation.

Ignacio Ruglio, the club's president, had already communicated this decision amid growing criticism for having given him a place in the club. “The issue of Diego García is a matter on which the club has been sufficiently clear. From day one, we said that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. At the moment the law declares him guilty, even if it's in the first instance, Peñarol will terminate his contract, even if there are appeal instances. Until today, that has not happened, so under the law that governs our countries, he is innocent and has the right to work,” he had said before the ruling 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 from Estudiantes de La Plata, went with a group of friends to a party organized by First Division footballers of 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 made immediately, entered behind her, and sexually assaulted her.

The victim first went to the Police, then to the Courts, and finally managed to have the oral trial against García for "sexual abuse with carnal access", which was carried out in the Criminal Court V of La Plata. The player claimed in his defense that it was a "consensual relationship", but there was evidence that confirmed the truth of the complaint. "The mechanics of the attack were clear: push, hit, immobilization, rape", the prosecutor stated in his argument.

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