Kathryn Mayorga filed a complaint against the football star for raping her in June 2009. Read on for more.
Neymar Charged for Sexual Harassment
In an attempt to defend himself from these accusations, the famous football star released images of the personal conversation along with intimate photographs the two exchanged before the incident.
The 26-year old Brazilian claims that, during June 2009, the football star asked her to follow him to Paris, where the incident happened.
According to her, he insisted that she goes with him to Paris, and after a few drinks, he forced himself on her in the Sofitel Hotel in Paris while apparently being too drunk. Even though she tried to reason with him, he became aggressive and through violence, practiced sexual intercourse against her will.
The story got to the court, and the prosecutors were in the middle of building the case when Neymar decided to defend himself on social media.
Despite his attempts to defend himself against these accusations, it turns out that the case could backfire at him. He released a seven-minute Instagram video in which he posted messages and pictures he took with the accuser, proving that they had a relationship before the event. He probably thought he would be able to predict the outcome the way a gambler would calculate blackjack odds.
However, he could be looking at one to five years in jail since Brazilian law strictly prohibits offering, exchanging, or distributing sexual content or nudity without the consent of all those depicted.
He stated that he would not hesitate to expose further parts of their conversation since this event cornered him, and he preferred to disclose all intimate details rather than being wrongfully accused.
Neymar Sr, the player’s father, stated that he would rather have seen his son accused of any other crime than rape and that he fully supported him. He added that, ultimately, the girl gave them no choice and that they did their best to hide her details and her pictures since all they wanted was to prove his son’s innocence.
However, many legal experts state that Brazilian law does not make a difference between people who are trying to defend themselves and those who publish some material without the consent of another person; this is better known as “revenge porn.”
The statement Neymar gave contained a confession in which he stated that he was fully aware that the publication of the entire intimate conversation and nudity images was against the law, and that he was ready to face the consequences of that act.
On June 3, he was called to answer further questions regarding the virtual crime he had committed after which the court would move on to the sexual harassment case.
A few hours after the disclosure of these images, Instagram decided that the images were inappropriate, and this is why they were taken down from the Neymar’s page. However, even if the content is no longer available, according to experts — the crime has already been committed.
Jacira Melo, the executive director of NGO Institute, stated that this situation proved the already established practice — women were found guilty when exposing nudity or expressing their sexuality; however, when it came to exposing sensitive, sexual content without the person’s consent, the law might just allow it. She added that this event made this case even darker and that the court should discuss more serious charges for the player.
Luiz Augusto D’Urso, a digital law professor, stated for the Jovem Pan radio that he thought this event unfortunate for the football player. He hoped that the court would be aware that there was “no malice” in his course of action and that he should not be convicted for another crime. He added that it was obvious that the objective of the player had been to defend himself and clear his name.
He emphasized that even though he was charged for a virtual crime, he did not expose the whole conversation between him and his partner, nor did he share explicit photos of the woman who had accused him. Neymar blurred the images of the conversation and the nudity images, and this is why the court should not see this as a solid case against the player.
Vera Iaconelli stated during a radio interview on the subject that we could not be sure if the football star was a victim of a classic extortion attempt, but the release of such intimate photos was counted as an ethical crime against the other person, and he should face charges.
Even though the image of Brazil’s golden boy is a bit tarnished after these accusations, the final verdict is yet to be seen.
