Moroccan Olympic boxer Hassan Saada was arrested Friday in Brazil on allegations of sexually assaulting two women Wednesday.
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The boxer is now being held in prison in Rio de Janeiro after the two maids went to the police and accused him of sexual assault.
Police sources told Brazilian news site G1 that Saada was accused of calling the cleaners to his room on the pretext of asking them a question and then improperly touched them.
The detective said Saada shared the room with two other athletes, but was alone at the time of the alleged assault. Under Brazilian law, suspects can be held for a long period while a case is examined.
In a statement, the Brazilian justice ministry said that Saada, 22, had seen his petition for freedom denied, even though he was due to face Turkey’s Nadir Mehmet Unal in a middleweight boxing bout on Saturday.
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In a statement to the AFP, local police authorities said the following: “Based on the investigation, on the third of this month, the athlete had raped two cleaning ladies in the Athlete’s Village”. He was not predicted to be a medal contender.
