The recommendation of charges follows assertions by Brazil’s police today that Lochte, Feigen and two other USA swimmers – Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz – who said they were held up at gunpoint in Rio were not robbed.
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Speedo and Ralph Lauren are among the sponsors of US Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte, who are now reviewing their ties with the Rio Olympics gold medallist following his lies about being robbed at gunpoint.
The USOC said earlier on Thursday that three of the swimmers who remain in Brazil would be helping police with their investigation, after authorities had stopped two of them leaving the country the previous day and seized their passports.
Blackmun also said “we apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence”.
The last swimmer in Rio, Jimmy Feigen, provided an updated statement to police, U.S. Olympic officials said, and hoped to get his passport back shortly to return home. At that point, Lochte was already back in the United States. A Brazilian judge issued an order Wednesday for all four swimmers to be kept in Brazil while their story was probed.
The claim forced Brazil’s Olympics organizers into an apology for the supposed security lapse. Authorities said a security guard pointed a gun at the swimmers as they attempted to leave in a taxi before police arrived.
NBC host Matt Lauer said late on Wednesday that Lochte repeated a slightly modified version to NBC in an interview not yet aired, saying the swimmers had stopped at a gas station and that a gun was pointed in his direction during the robbery. However, it is worth noting that the USOC does emphasize that the security staff “displayed their weapons” and “demanded the athletes provide a monetary payment”. No criminal charges were initially brought because the athletes coughed up a small amount of money to pay for the damages, he said.
“There was no robbery of the kind reported by the athletes”, Veloso told a press conference. The source said they damaged a bathroom door and staff said they tore down a poster and also urinated on the wall of station’s convenience store.
Authorities said that after the incident, the swimmers did not call police; officers began investigating after they saw news coverage with Lochte’s mother speaking about the incident.
The charge of falsely reporting a crime does not carry any prison time, Mr Veloso is reported to have said.
As they talk, two of the swimmers briefly raise their hands and all four sit down on a curb.
The Shell service station is close to the Olympic Park where sporting action has been overshadowed over the past two weeks by a string of muggings and robberies, including the hold-up of two visiting government ministers.
Rio 2016 Olympics chief spokesman Mario Andrada, who had apologized to the athletes after the supposed robbery, was in forgiving mood Thursday.
In addition to multiple incidents of theft from Olympic athletes and media, a Portuguese government minister was mugged in Rio’s swish Leblon district. Brazilians are working with USA authorities to get Lochte interviewed, Veloso said.
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They tracked down witnesses, including three of Lochte’s fellow swimmers at the scene, reviewed surveillance tapes and made a ruling on whether the accounts looked or sounded like a robbery. One of the swimmers can be seen taking money out of his wallet.
