2023-07-28 01:13:17
Walter David Conna (50) from Mendoza is one of the main references in field hockey in Cuyo. He was a player of that discipline and a renowned technical director, coming to lead Las Leonas. In the past decade he had a stint in San Juan directing Las Patitas of the National University of San Juan, between 2014 and 2020. He also served in San Juan Rugby and in the U19 and Major provincial teams.
But since this Thursday the athlete has been formally accused in a case for sexual abuse.
The complaint was made by one of her students from San Rafael for alleged harassment that she would have suffered in mid-2019, when she was 15 years old. Last March, the prosecutor for Gender Violence Paula Arana decided to take an informative statement from the ex-hockista, which is an intermediate step between being a witness and accused in a case.
However, the investigation advanced and this Thursday he was summoned in the San Rafael Courts to formally accuse him. Walter Conna was notified for six acts of simple sexual abuse, for which he risks a potential sentence of between 6 months and 24 years in prison. Since he has no criminal record and the crime allows for a prison sentence, he was released, although subject to certain conditions.
The now defendant will not be able to leave Mendoza without prior notice, he must regularly attend a judicial office to sign and they also established a ban on approaching less than 500 meters from the complainant, including sports competitions since the victim continues to play hockey over the grass. In fact, the prosecutor ordered the measure to be communicated to the Mendocina Hockey Association and the Argentine Hockey Confederation so that they take the necessary precautions.
The complaint for sexual abuse
The criminal case began in that department in the southern province in mid-October 2022. A young woman, who is already of legal age, approached a judicial unit to denounce that in 2019, when she was 15 years old, she was repeatedly sexually abused. occasions by the coach of the club where he played field hockey, who was 47 years old at the time.
In her account, the victim explained that in mid-June 2019 DT had promoted her to the highest category of that discipline but in exchange she began to send her WhatsApp messages in sexual tones and even had private meetings both in the club and in a hotel and a cabin, for example. In those acts, the suspect touched her private parts and the complainant “felt disgusted but she didn’t want her to get mad at me. If she didn’t do it, she wasn’t going to let me play any game.” “I blocked myself, I didn’t know how to react,” said the young player in the file.
The context that aggravated the alleged sexual abuse was not only the age of the victim, but the hierarchy of the alleged aggressor since he is a man widely recognized in the world of field hockey -his identity is reserved by court order-. He was one of the best players of this sport in the province and once he retired he led several local clubs -currently one located in Greater Mendoza-, the Mendoza national teams -both male and female- and even had a stint as coach of Las lionesses.
In addition to the testimony of the complainant, a handful of witnesses from the club’s environment have also testified and screenshots of Whastapp conversations were incorporated.
Source: Diario Uno / Newsroom
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