Judge orders two US swimmers to stay in the country – USA TODAY
A Brazilian judge cites discrepancies in the police report about the robbery.
RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian judge has ordered two U.S. swimmers not to leave the country, according to court documents obtained Wednesday. Ryan Lochte and Jimmy Feigen were ordered to stay in Rio three days after they said they were robbed.
Judge Keyla Blank said there were inconsistencies in the testimony of the two swimmers, who said they were robbed at gunpoint after a late night out. Lochte has already left the country, his agent said.
Blank wrote in her filing that there were discrepancies about the time when they left France House and arrived at the athletes’ village.
According to the documents, she watched surveillance video of the swimmers arriving at the athletes’ village. “They arrived with their psychological and physical integrity unperturbed,” she wrote, also noting that the swimmers appeared to be joking with each other and did not appear to be upset.
Investigators need more time to determine whether they are guilty of filing a false police report, the judge wrote.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said police had further questions for the swimmers but that no athletes had been detained Wednesday morning.
“There was no effort to detain anyone, but police did have further questions this a.m. It is a matter for our consulate and U.S. citizen services and we will continue to cooperate with all involved,” USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky told USA TODAY Sports.
Police went to the athletes’ village to speak with the swimmers, who were not there. Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Feigen said they were robbed at gunpoint early Sunday morning.
It was unclear whether the other three swimmers were still in Rio. Bentz, who swims for the University of Georgia, originally planned to return to the United States on Thursday, Georgia sports information director Claude Felton said. But he did not know whether Bentz had already returned home.
Lochte told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday that he initially did not tell the USOC that he and three other swimmers were victims of a robbery early Sunday morning “because we were afraid we’d get in trouble.”
The four swimmers told USOC officials that they had been taking a taxi home early Sunday from France House when “their taxi was stopped by individuals posing as armed police officers who demanded the athletes’ money and other personal belongings,” according to a USOC statement.
Police investigating the case told the Associated Press they have found little evidence supporting the swimmers’ account of the incident. The four swimmers were unable to provide key details in police interviews, according to the AP.
Jeff Ostrow, Lochte’s attorney, said Lochte cooperated fully with authorities and gave a statement to representatives from the State Department, FBI, Tourist Police and the USOC’s security team at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday night.
“I know that Ryan didn’t want this to turn into what it did,” Ostrow said. “The Olympics are more important and Team USA’s performances are more important.”
Rio 2016 and the International Olympic Committee did not address the case when asked about it at a news conference Wednesday. “Just for clarification, we won’t be asking USOC for any comment. You’ll have to go to them directly,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.
Contributing: Taylor Barnes
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