MEXICO CITY (AP) — A judge in Mexico ruled on Friday that former soccer player Omar Bravo will stand trial for allegedly abusing a teenage girl.
The 45-year-old Bravo, who played for Mexico in the 2006 World Cup and competed in the 2004 Olympics, was arrested last Sunday in Zapopan, a suburban area next to Guadalajara, one of the three biggest cities in the country.
Bravo allegedly abused the 17-year-old daughter of his girlfriend over the past six years. If convicted, the former striker could face a sentence between five and up to 10 years in prison.
The judge ruled that due to the nature of the alleged crime, Bravo must remain in prison at least for the next six months. In Mexico, pretrial detention is applied if the accused was considered a danger to society or the process.
"For these types of crimes, due to their seriousness, the law provides these types of measures. Six months is a likely time limit because if the trial continues longer, he will have to spend more time in pretrial detention,” said the victim's lawyer Juan Soltero.
The defense led by Soltero presented 42 screenshots of conversations between Bravo and the girl and also a video recording.
Bravo played 66 matches with the Mexican national team and scored 15 goals. He retired in 2018 as Chivas' all-time leading scorer. Chivas is one of the two most popular teams in Mexico.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Chivas' Omar Bravo celebrates his goal against America during a Mexican soccer league match in Mexico City, Sept. 26, 2015. (AP Photo/Christian Palma, File)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.
Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.
The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”
Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.
To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.
Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.
Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.
Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
