Lochte was already back in the US, while Feigen was reportedly still in Brazil, but his whereabouts were unknown. It was confirmed that Lochte had already flown home.
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According to the Associated Press, a Brazilian official claim Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. Olympic swimmers fabricated the claim that they were robbed at gunpoint.
But a series of conflicting accounts by the athletes and authorities since then has caused confusion and turned the event into a diplomatic issue involving consular officials, lawyers, judicial orders to confiscate passports and the removal of athletes from a flight. “I’m just trying to give Brazil what they need or what they want and get out of here, ” Feigen told USA TODAY Sports.
Now, Brazilian officials are suggesting that the United States swimmers may have made up their account – and could face charges for filing a false report. Sandusky declined to say whether Lochte and Feigen were still in the country.
People magazine reported that Lochte was spotted at an airport in North Carolina on Wednesday with his girlfriend, Kayla Rae Reid, a Playboy model.
The judge also noted that video footage of the swimmers showed them returning to the Athletes Village joking with one another and in possession of many of their belongings, including cellular phones and Olympic accreditation.
Reports of the incident were immediately plunged into confusion when the International Olympic Committee denied that anything had happened. Also, the swimmers told the police different accounts of the robbery: Lochte said that a group of men did the job, while Feigen says it was only one of them.
An attorney for Lochte, Jeff Ostrow, brushed off the discrepancy, saying the gun was pointed near his head, not against it, adding the difference was just “a matter of inches”.
In particular, she pointed to inconsistencies in the stories describing the mugging as told by Lochte and Feigen. He told Billy Bush on August 14 that the alleged robber held a gun to his head, but when he talked to Matt, he said the gun was just pointed in his general direction. “They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground – they got down on the ground”.
The British Olympic team says an athlete was robbed while returning to their accommodation in Rio de Janeiro.
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Lochte left the country on Tuesday and was back in Florida per multiple reports.
The US Olympic Committee said the remaining three are cooperating with police.
Conger’s detention stems from Lochte’s previous claim that the four athletes were robbed following a party early Sunday morning.
“It’s noticeable that the victims arrived back physically and mentally unshaken, even joking with each other”, the judge said.
Sandusky said Lochte’s teammates “are cooperating with authorities and in the process of scheduling a time and place today to provide further statements to the Brazilian authorities”.
Police sources have told Reuters in recent days they have been unable to find the taxi driver or to corroborate any testimony provided by the swimmers.
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Lochte now says he did not get “pulled over” by men posing as police – but rather, 2 men approached their taxi while it was parked at a gas station, where Lochte had used the restroom.
