(ATR) Ryan Lochte did not lie to police about an incident at a Rio de Janeiro gas station, a Brazilian court ruled.
A Rio court dropped charges against Lochte regarding filing a false police report following the incident. The ruling said that "there is only a crime of false communication…when the police take action from the narrative of the alleged victim," according to Brazilian media. Because Lochte only presented the false narrative to NBC following the incident, not the police, the court ruled the charges should be dropped.
"We are pleased that the court has finally dismissed the criminal prosecution against Mr. Lochte, while at the same time, appropriately recognizing that he committed no crime," a lawyer for Lochte said in a statement. "It has been a long year, but in the end, justice prevailed."
Lochte and three other American swimmers were questioned by authorities for their conduct at a Rio gas station early in the morning of Aug. 14. Lochte had originally told NBC that he and the three other swimmers were robbed at gun point by persons posing as Brazilian police officers on the way home from a party. Lochte eventually amended the story to say that he was forced to hand over money at a gas station at gun point. The United States Olympic Committee said the next day all four swimmers were cooperating with the investigation, although Lochte left Brazil the day after the incident.
Investigations by USA Today and Globo showed that the swimmers had broken a sign at a gas station and were stopped by security. Due to an inability to communicate, security demanded repayment from the swimmers for the broken sign leading to the confusing situation. Eventually a small amount of money was handed over and the swimmers returned to the Olympic Village.
During the investigation police ordered the confiscation of the four swimmers’ passports in order to take each one in for questioning. Lochte had already left the country, but Brazilian authorities removed two swimmers Gunnar Benz and Jack Conger from their flight for questioning. At that time the whereabouts of the final swimmer Jimmy Feigen was unknown. Benz and Conger gave a statement to the police saying the robbery story was a lie and returned to the United States.
Eventually, Brazilian authorities spoke with Feigen, who had been charged with falsifying a police report. Feigen apologized for the incident and was ordered to pay a $10,800 fine to drop the charges. The money was used for improvements by the Instituto Reação, in Jacarepagua. Reação trained Brazilian judoka Rafaela Silva, who won a gold medal at Rio 2016.
Lochte was also suspended by the USOC for 10 months because of his role in the incident, with the three other swimmers received four month competition bans.
The saga of the American swimmers was one of a few police incidents at the Rio 2016 Olympics. IOC member Patrick Hickey was arrested before the Games ended, and is still awaiting trial. Brazilian authorities allege Hickey was part of a ticket touting scheme to profit from Olympic Council of Ireland allocated tickets. Hickey has maintained his innocence, and was allowed to return to Ireland to seek medical treatment for a heart condition. It is unlikely he will return to Rio to appear before a judge, but as part of his release conditions Hickey must accept all judgments taken.
Moroccan boxer Hassan Saada was arrested for alleged sexual assault against workers in the village. Saada was detained for two weeks in a Rio jail before being released to house arrest. In June, Brazilian authorities returned Saada’s passport, according to local reports, allowing him to return to Morocco pending a trial.
Written by Aaron Bauer
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