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The Brazilian police charged Ryan Lochte for falsely reporting a crime after the indecent during the Olympics in Rio de Janerio.
A letter will be sent to the US Swimmer to inform him of the charges which will also contain the legal process from the Rio police. Lochte can then decide if he will introduce a defense in Brazil. In the statement released by the authorities, it stated that the International Olympic Committee's ethics commission was furnished a copy of the evidence.
“I’m endeavoring to obtain more information and we intend to fully cooperate with the government as we have all along,” said Jeffrey Ostrow, the lawyer of Lochte, according to USA Today Sports. He also said that he did not hear from the Rio officials yet.
If the 32-year-old swimmer will be convicted got the crime of false communication, he will face one to six months in imprisonment but the judge can also allow him to pay a fine instead and Lochte could appeal any decision if he chooses to. According to Clemente Braune, a commissioner with the Rio Special Tourist Police, there would be negotiations in the athlete's case.
To recall, Lochte claimed that he was robbed along with teammates Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen. He said that men with a police badge pointed a gun on them back in Aug. 14 while they returned to the Olympic Village from a party. Later, he changed his statement that the gun was being cocked at his forehead.
The other three swimmers already expressed their own versions of what occurred that night which matched the surveillance video but Lochte's story was different when he said they were robbed. The security guards used their guns to stop the athletes from leaving the premises after they vandalized the gas station.
Aside from vandalism, the swimmers also allegedly urinated behind the building and Lochte pulled down a poster enclosed in a metal frame. With that, Feigen was told to do 15 days community service and pay a fine of $31,250 which he rejected. He then negotiated a $10,800 and left Brazil after he got back his passport.
Lochte admitted to NBC's Matt Lauer that he "over exaggerated" his statement about the incident, CNN reported. Apart from facing the case of the Rio authorities, the four-time Olympian may also be disciplined by the US Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee.
A photo posted by Ryanlochte (@ryanlochte) on Aug 19, 2016 at 7:11am PDT
