Darthes denied sexually abusing Thelma Fardin

Actor Juan Darthés denied on Thursday that he sexually abused actress Thelma Fardin in Nicaragua during a tour of the strip “Patito feo” made in 2009, when he was 45 years old and she was 16. He gave his version of events, although he avoided answering questions from the prosecution and the complaint when testifying for the first time in the trial that follows him in Brazil.
“Juan denied the charges against him, denied the accusation and told the truth of what happened. He took the opportunity to tell the whole truth that was hidden for four years because no one bothered to listen to him. Today he gave a statement so that there is no doubt against the accusation,” said Euro Bento Maciel, Darthés’ defense lawyer.

Likewise, the lawyer explained that “from now on, the judge must comply with a series of procedural rites with the defense and the Public Ministry without defined deadlines.” 

Source: Télam.

Darthes’ statement was followed by Fardin from the offices of the Specialized Prosecutorial Unit on Violence against Women (UFEM), where she was accompanied by her lawyers, Martín Arias Duval and Brazilian lawyer Carla Junqueira. What we anticipated happened: he gave his version, answered questions from the defense, but not from the Prosecutor’s Office or our complaint,” Arias Duval said about Darthés’ statement, which lasted for two hours, starting at 3 p.m. Argentine time. Despite the lawyer’s reference to the plaintiff’s statements, he recalled that since “there is summary secrecy,” he could not reveal “the content” of the statement.

Source: Télam.

Fardin, along with his lawyers, members of the Argentine Actresses collective and Amnesty International (AI), arrived at the UFEM headquarters at 12.45 p.m., and left at 4.45 p.m. without making a statement. Before entering UFEM, the actress said: “It took a lot to get here, and I arrive with the expectation that justice will live up to the process we went through.” On his feelings about the case, he said that “it weighed a lot during all these years on my back. And what they did with me they do with all of them: to say that we lie, that we do it because we enjoy being in this situation. Without a doubt it is an unequal struggle, the power we are facing is very strong.”

Original source in Spanish