Argentine Appeals Court Dismiss Rape Charges Against French Rugby Players

Argentine appeals judges have dismissed rape charges against French rugby players Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou, even as their accuser vowed to seek recourse to a higher court. The men, both 21, were arrested two days after winning their first international caps for France against Argentina in the western city of Mendoza in July last year.

A 39-year-old woman, whom they met in a nightclub after the match, accused them of a vicious assault in a hotel room.

Auradou and Jegou insisted they had consensual sex with the woman after a night of drinking.

The players were held in preventive custody for over a week in Mendoza and then under house arrest for nearly a month before being allowed to return to France last September after prosecutors said the case against them appeared flimsy.

On Tuesday, three appeals judges in Mendoza upheld a lower courts ruling last December to dismiss all charges against the pair.