Fijian pair face trial after alleged drunken sex assault

Fiji rugby stars Josaia Raisuqe and Vuidravuwalu Waisea are to be tried for a combination of drunken violence and sexual assault after an incident at a Paris nightspot, judicial sources told AFP on Monday.

The pair, who are on the books of French Top 14 side Stade Francais, had been held in custody since the early hours of Sunday after a fight and an allegation of sexual assault.

A 35-year-old woman alleged that Raisuqe had "touched her breasts in a brutal way", according to a complaint seen by AFP. That incident sparked a brawl between the players and the woman's friends.

The players, who were picked up by police at around 3am local time (0100 GMT) Sunday, will go before a magistrate on Tuesday as a trial date will be fixed.

Two friends of the woman allegedly assaulted were punched several times, the source said, and were given sick leave by a doctor.

The source told AFP that Raisuqe claimed on Monday, during a controlled confrontation between all those involved, to have little memory of the incident due to how much alcohol he had drunk.

In a statement, Stade Francais called for social media users to exercise caution in their views "in the absence of official information".

The French club also said they condemned "with the utmost firmness all forms of violence and in particular violence against women".

Stade added that they will "of course take the appropriate measures" if the allegations are proved

Source: AFP