The Justice of Tucumán took a decisive step in one of the most controversial cases in Argentine football. Judge Patricia Carugatti confirmed the acquittal of the four former Vélez Sarsfield players accused of sexual abuse. The decision supports the original acquittal sentence in December 2025. The second favorable ruling for the accused This resolution supports the absolute acquittal sentence originally issued in December 2025 by Judge Augusto Paz Almonacid. On that occasion, the magistrate dismissed the accusation for lack of sufficient elements after thoroughly analyzing the evidence. In this new instance, Judge Carugatti concluded that the plaintiff's arguments failed to demonstrate errors or arbitrariness that would justify revoking the previous ruling. A key factor in the decision was that the Public Prosecutor's Office chose not to adhere to the plaintiff's appeal. The turn in the penal investigation The original complaint alleged that the footballers had abused a young woman from Tucumán in the Hilton hotel in the provincial capital after a match. As a result, the accused spent 920 days in home arrest. However, the case took a drastic turn at the end of 2025. After a counter-complaint for alleged illicit association and the subsequent analysis of the cell phones of the witnesses, the defenses found messages that weakened the initial accusation and led to the acquittals. The latest judicial instances With this setback for the plaintiff, the path to reversing the acquittal is significantly reduced. The plaintiff's representation only has to appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice of Tucumán — an instance that does not have fixed deadlines for issuing a verdict — and, eventually, recur as a last resort to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. Meanwhile, the athletes maintain their formal state of innocence. BP