Police have issued warrants for the arrest of two members of the men’s soccer team Brazil sent to the Pan Am Games in Toronto in July, after a woman accused the men of sexually assaulting her while she slept.
Sex Crimes Unit Insp. Joanna Beaven-Desjardins said that on the night of July 25, a 21-year-old woman and her friend were at the Drake Hotel on Queen Street West, when they met up with the two suspects.
The victim, her friend and the two suspects left the Drake for a residence in Toronto. Beaven-Desjardins said that after the victim went to sleep in her bedroom, the two suspects allegedly entered the room and sexually assaulted her.
The two men fled when the victim woke up, Beaven-Desjardins said. The victim reported the assault on July 26. Beaven-Desjardins said the two accused were not aware of the accusation before they left Canada.
They left Canada with their team on July 27. Between July 7 and July 27, the two suspects stayed at the Pan Am Athletes Village east of downtown Toronto.
The two men have been identified as Lucas Domingues Piazon, 21, and Andrey Da Silva Ventura, 22. Both are wanted for sexual assault, Domingues Piazon on an Ontario-wide warrant, and Da Silva Ventura on a Canada-wide warrant.
Domingues Piazon plays professional soccer for English Championship team Reading as a forward on a year-long loan from Chelsea, while Ventura plays professionally as a goalkeeper for Botafogo in Brazil.
She continued to say that because the warrant for Domingues Piazon is Ontario-wide and not national, they will not seek his extradition to Canada.
“We will be working with all law enforcement officials across the world, so that when he does travel, especially being part of a national team, we’ll be notified of his movements,” Beaven-Desjardins said.
Beaven-Desjardins said police are working with the Brazilian consulate to convince both men to come to Toronto to respond to the charges.
“It would be good for the victim and the process and themselves for them to cooperate with police.”
In the meantime, Beaven-Desjardins said police have started the procedure to extradite Ventura from Brazil to Canada. Brazil and Canada signed an extradition treaty in 1995.
Det. Sgt. Joanne Rudnick told CP24 in an email that the decision to begin extradition against one suspect but not the other was "made by the Crown's office based on the evidence that was set before them."
Through a spokesperson, Chelsea Football Club said in an email that they "are aware of reports" mentioning the allegation against Piazon.
Police have maintained an Ontario-wide warrant for another member of Brazil’s Pan Am Games team, 27-year-old water polo player Thye Mattos Ventura Bezerra, in connection with a sexual assault alleged to have taken place on July 16.
In that incident, a 22-year-old woman reported she was sexually assaulted while she slept in her downtown Toronto apartment.
Beaven-Desjardins said investigators believe the two incidents are not related.
