Former Vélez Sarsfield players accused of sexual assault allowed parole

Abiel Osorio, José Florentín and Braian Cufré had been under house arrest in Tucuman since March

Former Vélez Sarsfield players Abiel Osorio, José Florentín, and Braian Cufré, who were accused in March of sexual assault and placed under house arrest in Tucumán, have been granted parole. The fourth player involved in the case, Sebastián Sosa, had been on parole since March.

Judge Eliana Gómez Moreira, who dictated the house arrest on March 21, granted the players’ defense request that they be released, albeit under certain conditions. The players will be allowed to stay in their private homes but will have to return to Tucuman whenever they are needed for the investigation. 

They’re also due to present themselves every month at the Tucuman Prosecutor’s Office and weekly at their nearest police station. They are banned from traveling and from being nearer than 400 meters of the victim, due to a restraining order. Sosa, who had requested permission to leave the country to join Uruguayan side Miramar Misiones, had his petition denied.

According to the police report, on March 2, Sosa invited a 24-year-old woman to the team’s hotel in Tucumán via messages to her Instagram after a game. Upon arrival at around 10 p.m., she found Cufré, Osorio, and Florentín were also in the room. 

The women said that the five of them shared beer and drinks in the room. She reported later feeling ill and dizzy and lying down on one of the beds. It was at this point that she said she was sexually abused. She left at around 5:30 a.m. once her condition improved and was able to ask for a ride home.

On April 24, the club announced that it had released Osorio, Florentín and Cufré from their contracts after an internal investigation found the players had committed “gross work misconduct.” Sosa, who has been charged with being an accessory, was fired on April 17. 

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