Rubiales to appear before judge Friday over kiss incident
Madrid, Sep 12 (EFE).- Former Spanish soccer federation President Luis Rubiales was summoned Tuesday to declare before a judge later this week in a sexual assault and coercion case filed after he kissed player Jenni Hermoso during the World Cup final ceremony.
One day after admitting the Prosecutor’s Office case against Rubiales crimes of sexual assault and coercion, National Court Judge Francisco de Jorge summoned Rubiales to appear Friday before the Central Court of Instruction No. 1.
The judge said Rubiales could have committed a crime of sexual assault by kissing Jenni Hermoso without her consent and one of coercion for grabbing her head with both hands. He said the pressure she was under amid her surroundings could have led her to publicly justify the episode.
The judge ordered that all available images and footage of the kiss and the minutes immediately before and after the event related to the celebration be collected.
The judge also asked to analyze videos of the celebration in the locker room and the bus.
The Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint against Rubiales after Jenni Hermoso formalized her complaint against him in an appearance in which she said the kiss was not consensual and reported that both she and those around her felt pressured.
Rubiales resigned from his post as president Sunday night after more than five years at the head of the institution and 21 days after the episode, which caused a global stir and led FIFA to provisionally suspend him for 90 days. EFE
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