An Olympic athlete is being held by police in Paris after he was accused of carrying out a drunken sexual assault on a woman near the River Seine.
The accused is understood to be an Egyptian wrester but he has not been named but the attack in reported to have taken place in the early hours of Friday morning.
French newspaper Le Parisien reported: ‘According to our information, he is a wrestler who participated in the Olympic competition. The victim filed a complaint.
“The police arrested the very imposing athlete, who was completely drunk on a public street. He allegedly put his hand on a woman’s buttocks in the street.’
The wrestler is the second athlete to have been arrested in the French capital earlier this week after Tom Craig was caught attempting to buy cocaine.
After being released with a warning, Craig said: ‘I’d firstly like to apologise for what has occurred over the past 24 hours. I made a terrible mistake and I take full responsibility for my actions.
‘My actions are my own and in no way reflect the values of my family, my teammates, my friends, my sport and the Australian Olympic Committee. I’ve embarrassed you all and I’m truly sorry.’
While some other Australian players followed Craig to the police station after his arrest, hockey chiefs say that he was the only one involved in the incident.
‘In view of the quantities of narcotics seized from the seller, the investigations were entrusted to the narcotics brigade. Both people are in police custody.’
Chef de mission Anna Meares added: ‘They heard the commotion, went out and saw that Tom had been arrested.
‘They spoke with police officers, the arresting officers, were able to follow to the police station concerned for Tom’s welfare, and from there, they reached out to Tom’s family who reached out to our lawyers.’
Meares also hoped that the incident would be a warning to any other athletes in Paris, with Craig now barred from the closing ceremony of the Games.
‘I actually sent out a message to all of our sports reminding them that no one is immune to making bad decisions and to getting into trouble, reminding them to please reach out to us if anything does occur, so that we can help them, but to also understand that not only their reputation, but the reputation of their sports and this Australian Olympic team, is at stake as well,’ she said. (Metro)
