Argentinian actress testifies in #MeToo trial

Twelve years after the sexual abuse she said she suffered in a hotel in Nicaragua, Argentine actress Thelma Fardin testified on Tuesday before a Brazilian court against her alleged assailant and colleague, Juan Darthes.

The actress arrived after midday at the headquarters of the Specialised Prosecutor's Unit on Violence against Women (UFEM) in Buenos Aires to testify virtually before a federal criminal judge in the city of Sao Paulo, where Darthes settled shortly after the scandal broke in 2018.

The actress claimed that year that in 2009 Darthes had raped her in a hotel in Managua while they were on the Latin American tour of "Patito Feo," a hit teen TV drama at the time. She was 16 and he was 45.

The actor denied the accusation.

Fardin explained that out of fear she had hidden what happened, but after hearing the testimonies of other actresses against Darthes for alleged sexual harassment, she gained the strength to formalise a complaint nine years later.

In 2019, the Nicaraguan justice system formalised the accusation against Darthes for aggravated rape and requested his international arrest.

Shortly before, the actor, of Argentine-Brazilian nationality, had settled in Brazil.

Brazil does not extradite nationals.

However, the Brazilian justice system initiated a criminal investigation against the actor and brought him to trial.

If found guilty, he could be sentenced to 6 to 12 years in prison.

The trial has been described as historic for the feminist collective in Latin America.

IMAGE: AP