The judge orders the return of the ex-player Alexis Zárate, condemned for sexual abuse
The head of the Criminal Trial Court 1 of Lomas de Zamora, Nicolás Pio, ordered the ex-player of Independiente, Alexis Zárate, who is currently playing for FK Liepaja in Latvia and was convicted of sexual abuse, to return to the country before May 10, as he had promised.
Zárate was sentenced to six years and six months in prison for raping Giuliana Peralta in 2014 in an apartment in the town of Wilde, Buenos Aires.
The footballer is waiting for the Buenos Aires Criminal Appeals Court to rule on the matter in the coming days. If the conviction is confirmed, he will have to go to prison.
The judge's order for Zárate to return to the country was issued after the player's lawyers stated that he cannot return to the country at the moment because his club will only grant him vacation in June.
The incident for which Zárate was convicted occurred on March 16, 2014 when the young woman, who was then dating another Independiente player, Martín Benítez, arrived with her partner at an apartment in Wilde.
The couple had sexual relations and then both fell asleep. It was then, according to the case file, that Zárate entered the room and raped the girl with the apparent complicity of Benítez.
Zárate requested permission to leave the country for a contract with a club in Latvia, and the justice system allowed him to leave with the commitment to return before May 10.
Prosecutor Ramiro Varangot has already requested that the footballer return on the specified date, and the judge ruled in the same manner "to guarantee due process and effective judicial action". If he does not return, it is not ruled out that the Argentine justice system will request his arrest.