Haiti: accused of sexual assault, the president of the football federation defends himself

Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, during the Women's World Cup in Saint-Malo, France, August 6, 2018, Catherine Ivill - FIFA / FIFA via Getty Images

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After an investigation published by the British newspaper The Guardian last week, the justice system has opened an investigation into alleged rapes and sexual assaults allegedly committed by the president of the Haitian federation (FHF) of football against underage players.

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With our correspondent in Port-au-Prince, Amélie Baron

The judicial police and the juvenile protection brigade announced the opening of an investigation into the alleged sexual crimes allegedly committed at the national training center.

A procedure that the president of the federation targeted by these allegations, wishes to see succeed in order, he says, to wash his name and that of Haiti. "  The only way to stop this scandal of all-out montages which creates great confusion and which feeds the scandal, is precisely to direct us towards research and to bring out the truth," he believes. There was only one big scandal, but no victim, no complaint, no place ... No report, no constitution of facts, and that's what we want to achieve. "

The president of the Haitian football federation announces that he will file a complaint in Paris against the French journalist who contributed to the investigation published in the Guardian .

In its investigation published on Thursday 30 April , the British newspaper The Guardian claimed that young players had been raped or sexually assaulted there in the past five years. Under cover of anonymity, presumed victims revealed in the daily newspaper that at least two underage players would have aborted following rapes committed by Yves Jean-Bart in the sports complex, located on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

Human rights and women's rights activists in Haiti who have started to investigate these allegations of sex crimes deplore the omerta prevailing in the football community.

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Haiti: president of the football federation accused of sexual abuse of female players