Rubiales has been summoned to appear at 1200 local time
(1000 GMT) before an examining magistrate “to be heard as an accused” and to
respond to accusations of “sexual assault”, a Madrid court said in a statement
Tuesday.
The 46-year-old kissed Hermoso following Spain’s triumph in
Sydney on August 20, which she says was not consensual, while Rubiales insists
it was.
Judge Francisco de Jorge of the National Court admitted a
complaint against Rubiales on Monday filed by Spanish prosecutors last week
regarding alleged “crimes of sexual assault and “coercion”.
Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a
non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a criminal category that
groups together all types of sexual violence.
The penalties for a forced kiss can range from a fine to
four years in prison, according to sources from the public prosecutors’ office.
Rubiales stepped down as the Spanish football federation’s
president on Sunday but continued to defend himself over the kiss.
“I have faith in the truth and I will do everything in my
power so that it prevails,” Rubiales wrote in an open letter.
Hermoso, 33, who plays for Mexican club Pachuca, has said
the unwanted kiss left her feeling “vulnerable and like the victim of an
assault”, with a statement on social media describing it as “an impulsive,
macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.
She also accused Rubiales of pressuring her to speak out in
his defence immediately after the furore over the kiss erupted, which
prosecutors said could be considered a crime of coercion.
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