Jorge «El Mago» Valdivia is arrested after a complaint for alleged sexual abuse

Former Chilean soccer player Jorge "el Mago" Valdivia was arrested in the early hours of this Tuesday after a complaint for alleged sexual abuse filed by a woman with whom he had dinner on Sunday in a restaurant in Providencia, Santiago. Valdivia, who recently ended his relationship with deputy Maite Orsini, will be formalized in the next few hours.

The complainant, a tattoo artist, said that she met with Valdivia at the Peruvian restaurant "Chicha en Ají" to talk about a tattoo that the former player wanted to get. During dinner, both consumed two pisco sours, according to the owner of the establishment, Damián Bravo.

However, the woman said that after dinner she does not remember anything until she woke up in her bed, with a strong hangover and pain in her lower abdomen. When she asked Valdivia if they had had sexual relations, he confirmed it.

After the complaint, filed on Monday night, Valdivia was arrested by Carabineros around 03:00 hours on Tuesday, October 22 and taken to a police station in Ñuñoa.

In response to the accusation, Valdivia issued a statement in which he denied having committed any sexual assault, assuring that the relationship was consensual. "I do not know the motivations for that action, but I categorically deny having sexually assaulted anyone," he declared. In addition, he promised to collaborate with the investigation of the Public Ministry.

For his part, Bravo, the owner of the restaurant, expressed surprise at the situation and said that, after reviewing the security cameras, no abnormal behavior was observed on the part of Valdivia and the woman. According to the images, both said goodbye in a friendly manner and showed no signs of being drunk.

Valdivia wore a hood throughout the dinner, which made it difficult for the employees of the place, who are mostly foreigners, to recognize him. Carabineros confirmed his identity after reviewing the security cameras.

The case has generated great media attention, and Valdivia has asked the media to be cautious, recalling their right to the presumption of innocence while the investigation is underway.