The judge of the National Court Francisco de Jorge has admitted to processing the complaint presented by the Prosecutor's Office for crimes of sexual assault and coercion against the former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales for the kiss of the player Jennifer Hermoso in the final of the women's soccer world cup. Rubiales announced his resignation this Sunday, after three weeks of national and international scandal.
In an order, the magistrate agrees to the first steps in this procedure, including obtaining from RTVE the video or videos that they have in their files that record the moment from all angles in which the defendant kisses the complainant, as well as the minutes immediately before and after the event related to the celebration of the victory of the women's soccer team. He also claims from El País, El As and La Vanguardia different clips related to videos of celebration in the locker room and on the bus and the moment of the kiss.
The resolution conveys to Rubiales as the defendant the letter of the Prosecutor's Office so that he knows the facts accused and exercises his right of defense with all the procedural guarantees.
In the complaint, the Prosecutor's Office referred to the non-consensual kiss on the mouth that Rubiales gave to the player Jennifer Hermoso, while he grabbed her head with both hands, during the trophy presentation ceremony to the members of the Spanish Women's National Team. Soccer, after winning the World Cup held in Sydney (Australia), on August 20, 2023.
The complaint was filed after the player appeared before the prosecutor on September 5, accompanied by her lawyer, and expressly denounced the events that, according to her statement, occurred without her consent.
Jenni Hermoso also stated in her statement that both she and those closest to her suffered constant and repeated pressure from Luis Rubiales and his professional environment to justify and approve the facts. The prosecutor considers that this harassment could constitute a crime of coercion.
In the complaint, the prosecutor requested that a statement be taken from Luis Rubiales, as an investigator, and from Jenni Hermoso as a victim. Before summoning him to testify, the judge preferred to watch all the videos of the celebration from different moments and at different times. Likewise, he requested that information be collected from the Australian authorities on the classification of crimes against sexual freedom in their criminal regulations.
