RIO DE JANEIRO — An attorney who has practiced law in Brazil for more than 25 years raised doubt about whether Ryan Lochte broke Brazilian law when he misrepresented what happened during an alleged robbery of Lochte and three other American swimmers during the Olympics.
Even though Lochte has acknowledged fabricating part of his story about what took place during an encounter with Brazilian security guards Sunday, attorney Deborah Srour said Lochte’s actions do not constitute a crime based on a strict reading of Brazilian penal code.
“This crime only happens when you go to the police and you make a report, you file a report,’’ said Srour, who added that she has represented Americans arrested in Brazil. “This did not happen.’’
In Lochte’s case, Srour pointed out, police questioned Lochte and fellow U.S. swimmer Jimmy Feigen after reading published reports about the incident.
Srour cited article 340 of the Brazilian Penal Code that states, “It is a crime to provoke the action of the authorities, by communicating to it the occurrence of a crime or misdemeanor that he or she knows did not happened.” The penalty for such crime is detention from one to six months or the payment of a fine, according to the penal code.
Srour said said an indictment of Lochte would be easily dismissed with help from a local attorney.
Srour also said the matter could haunt Lochte even though the 12-time Olympic medalists left the country before law enforcement officers had a chance to demand money — such as the $11,000 paid by American swimmer Jimmy Feigen to secure his passport and leave the country after the incident.
Srour said Brazilian judges are notorious for pursuing cases such as Lochte’s if charges are filed and that Brazilian authorities could use Interpol and other international organizations to complicate his overseas travel.
“I’m not saying his travel is going to be hindered right now or anything,’’ she said. “But it’s just going to be a nuisance for him. So he should just apologize and pay the fine and that’s it.’’
