6 Cuban national volleyball team members charged with rape

HELSINKI – A Finnish prosecutor on Tuesday brought charges of aggravated rape against six members of the Cuban national volleyball team, which lost their games at the Rio Olympics with a depleted team.

Prosecutor Leena Koivuniemi said all six have denied the charges and were being held by the police until the court case. If convicted, they face maximum eight-year prison sentences.

Eight Cuban players were initially arrested in early July following allegations that a woman was raped at a hotel where the team was staying in Tampere, 170 kilometres (105 miles) north of the capital, Helsinki. Two were later released.

The arrests were made after the team had lost to Finland and Canada in the Volleyball World League tournament in the central city.

The Cuban Volleyball Association has acknowledged the arrests, saying the investigation seems to indicate acts by the players that were “totally removed from discipline, the sense of honour and respect that govern our sport and society.”