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BRAZILIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE charged US swimming star Ryan Lochte with making a false statement about being robbed at gunpoint during the Olympics according to police.
The 32-year-old gold medal-winner risks a jail sentence, Brazilian media quoted a police official as saying, although the judicial authorities had yet to confirm that.
“Ryan Lochte was charged with the crime of falsely reporting a crime,” police said in a statement, adding that the case had been referred to the courts.
The police statement said they had recommended the courts issue a summons for Lochte to be questioned.
“Once he is summoned, whether he turns up or not, the penalty is the same: one to six months in prison,” the news website G1 Rio quoted police official Clemente Braune as saying.
If he is summoned and does not turn up to the hearing, the trial will go ahead in the accused’s absence until the final sentence is given.
Vandalised bathroom
Lochte apologised last week for saying that he and three teammates had been mugged on their way back from an all-night party by robbers pretending to be police.
Rio police chief Fernando Veloso later told a news conference that the swimmers were not robbed but detained when they tried to flee after vandalising a gas station bathroom.
The tale humiliated first the Brazilian hosts of the Games and later Lochte’s own Team USA after police contested his story.
Top sponsors such as Speedo and Ralph Lauren abandoned Lochte this week.
“I’m taking full responsibility for it,” Lochte said in an interview broadcast last weekend.
I over-exaggerated that story and if I had never done that, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
Drunken urination
Lochte had earlier issued a written apology that was widely ridiculed online as half-hearted.
In the later NBC interview, he also admitted he was still intoxicated when he gave his initial account of the incident, adding: “I let my team down.”
Following the incident, Lochte flew back to the United States, while the other three swimmers – Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen – stayed in Brazil.
Police last week released closed-circuit TV footage and other evidence about the events at the gas station.
The athletes, who appeared intoxicated, stopped in a taxi at the gas station to use the bathroom during the early hours of the morning.
Lochte and the others then vandalised the area near the bathroom and, according to the manager, urinated on the walls.
Confronted by a security guard, they tried to leave. When the confrontation escalated, the security guard took out his pistol and made them sit on the ground.
After paying around $50 (€44) in compensation for the damage, they left unharmed and returned to the athletes’ village.
“There was no robbery of the kind reported by the athletes,” Veloso said.
Lochte’s claims embarrassed the Olympic authorities, highlighting security worries at the Olympics.
Brazil had deployed 85,000 police and soldiers to secure the Games.
Lochte could also face disciplinary action over the incident by USA Swimming and the International Olympic Committee.
One US company threw Lochte a lifeline on yesterday, however. Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops said it would launch a series of ads featuring Lochte with the slogan: “Forgiving on Your Throat.”
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Idiot. Should have just owned up to his dunked antics and this would all be forgotten by now.
How come we can comment on this crime in Rio and comment on another crime committed in Rio?
Probably because it’s an American citizen who will never be extradited
Fairly obvious weighing of the risk of being sued by the journal, or do you suspect some shadowy malign influences at play?
Exactly Chris. We normally get comments are closed. As if the Brazilian people read the journal
I’m sure lots of people with Brazilians read the journal tho.
‘ What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.’
Bit embarrassing.
But hey, cmon, at least he wasn’t selling Olympic tickets for profit.
Or representing his country, oh hang on.
It just shows the level of intelligence he has. For God sake he is from a country that wants trump and president. As for pat hickey. He is a sneaky rat that has destroyed many an athlete in his time. I hope he rots in jail
Have a listen to yesterdays Liveline with Mr Hickeys golf buddy, Joe Duffy bulling and talking down to the chief of police in Rio.
I wonder if that same presenter would speak to any of our law enforcers like the way he talked to Mr Falco. At one stage he inferred that the police could have intimidated the media with their hand gun.
For the national broadcaster this piece of biased “journalism” warrants an apology
We can comment on this but we can’t comment on a single Pat “allegedly crooked as f__k” Hickey article.
You’d think with all the murder and mayhem in Rio the police there would do something better with their time than go after petty ticket touts and vandals.
If I were Lochte I’d laugh at their summons and pay for the damage to the bathroom
Martin. If laws are broken then the authority’s are entitled to go after them no matter what Country they are from. No special privileges because Ireland is involed
He did pay, $50. Its in the article
And sure someone that robs another at gun point would never kill or injure anyone else, would they!? Sure why waste time going after someone with a measly handgun waving and pointing it at people and taking their stuff. I mean, seriously, it’s just a monumental waste of time and effort trying to stop people with guns threatening others. Like who hasn’t had a gun out to their forehead? I personally think it’s not a night out if you don’t end up with a gun to your head. Ridiculous that police would waste their time with that isn’t it.
What was a waste of time was reading your comment. Of course police should go after gun crime, you would actually be a certified idiot for not tackling gun crime. The other big waste was Lochte’s lying to police about what happened, which led to an awful lot of resources and time been diverted into something that never happened. Damn right he should be charged.
Exactly Martin ,with all the murders and robberies in Brazil you would think the police would have enough to do than investigate false robbery claims by some egotistical and pretentious American swimmer
You don’t have to go to Brazil to get mugged or a gun put to your head you can achieve that right here in dear old Ireland the only difference is you will pass on the jail card and walk free.So stop moaning about something you have no control over . Have a nice day. I will.
Looks like he is deep water again.
On people breaking the law at the Olympics in Rio. Pat Hickey’s family expecting our Prime minister to interfere with Brazilian law is pathetic. If you break the law in Brazil then you are entitled to Brazil justice not Irish justice. If I didn’t think Pat weak and arrogant before this decision by his family I certainly do now. At least the other fella is taking his punishment like a man and not a wimp.
His solicitor said he will not be turning up for court.this could effect decisions made on the two Irish men held in prison.
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