Rape accusation against Ryan Mendes gains new details with messages of helplessness in New Zealand

The Brazilian woman who made a rape complaint against Ryan Mendes, captain of the Cape Verde team in New Zealand, tried to obtain support from the Cape Verdean Football Federation on several occasions, but without success. Evidence on his cell phone includes contact records with at least three members of the organization.

Prior to the official registration with the police authorities, the victim had reported the incident to Sol Cabral, who works in the federation’s operations sector. After the formal complaint, the Brazilian contacted the entity again, contacting Gerson Melo, then Director of Development, and Igo Gomez, from the operational sector.

The screenshots of the telephone conversations were included in extrajudicial notifications sent by the Brazilian to both the African federation and FIFA, adding to other evidence of the occurrence. The *ge* report sought out the three employees, but only Gerson Melo provided feedback, stating that he no longer has any ties to the federation and that he was not in New Zealand.

New Zealand Police are continuing the investigation. After the Brazilian woman’s complaint against Ryan Mendes was formalized, authorities collected images from the hotel’s security cameras. They are currently awaiting the results of the expert report on the forensic examinations, which were carried out three months ago, to conclude the investigation and decide on whether to present the complaint to justice.

The incident took place on March 27 this year, inside the hotel that hosted the Cape Verde delegation for friendly games in Auckland, New Zealand. The police investigation began on April 10. The Brazilian was there providing services as an interpreter and operational support for the Cape Verde team during the FIFA Series, hired by the New Zealand Federation.

Omission of support in the first contacts with federation employees

The day after the events, the Brazilian sought out Sol Cabral, an employee from the operational sector of the Cape Verdean Federation present in Auckland, however, according to her report, she did not receive the expected help. Two of the screenshots included in the extrajudicial notifications correspond to these conversations with Sol Cabral.

In one of the interactions, five unanswered WhatsApp calls from the employee are visible. In another, on Instagram, in addition to a sixth call, there is a message from Sol Cabral: “Please, I need to talk to you. I’m without GROUND. My story in the national team will end and in principle you can forget about my participation in the World Cup. I fought for it. My dream will end and so will my reputation”.

The *ge* report tried to contact the employee on three occasions during the week, but did not receive a response, noting that she uses the temporary messaging feature on WhatsApp.

Medical investigation confirms injuries and federation minimizes case

Subsequently, the Brazilian woman sought help at a clinic specializing in survivors of sexual violence, where she underwent a forensic examination. The medical report noted multiple bruises on her breasts, neck and lips, as well as sensitive areas on her scalp and buttocks. The genital examination also recorded “two circular lesions, painful on palpation, at the base of the labia minora.” These clinical results were sent to the New Zealand police on April 10, the date on which the victim registered the incident and underwent forensic examination at the police station.

It was during this period of processing the complaint that she documented conversations with the other two members of the team: Igo Gomez, from the operational sector, and Gerson Melo, who at the time was Director of Development.

In exchanging messages with Igo Gomez, the Brazilian even mentioned Sol Cabral. “But as you can imagine, I didn’t know anything. And it’s better with Ryan’s lawyers,” Gomez wrote. The Brazilian then countered: “Yes, of course, but Sol found out the next day. In other words, it’s also a problem for the Federation. But now it’s all up to the lawyers and the courts.” Igo Gomez, in turn, reinforced the institutional view by stating: “This is Ryan’s personal problem and the Cape Verdean FCF does not approve situations like this anywhere. But it is still Ryan’s personal problem.” The federation, by positioning itself in this way, tries to exempt itself from institutional responsibility, even though the incident occurred while the victim was providing services to the team.

Employee Igo Gomez was also contacted by the report on several occasions to comment on the case, but there was no response.

Dialogue with another director and official notifications

On April 24, a new exchange of messages took place with Gerson Melo, then director of Development at the federation. The Brazilian requested the contact details of lawyers for both the entity and the athlete. Melo promised to contact Ryan Mendes’ lawyer, however, the victim’s family claims they never received this information.

“My lawyers asked if the contact with the Cape Verde federation is with you or with Dan Merkel?”, asked the Brazilian, referring to the entity’s secretary general. Gerson Melo clarified: “The SG should always be Dan. For institutional issues.” When asked whether Merkel was aware of the events, Melo responded on the evening of April 24: “Yes. Although it is a personal matter for Ryan, the SG (Dan) is aware. The matter is already with the indicated people.”

On the morning of April 25th, the Brazilian replied, reiterating her position: “Gerson, as I told Igo, this is also a matter for the Cape Verde federation, as I was providing a service to you at the time of the incident, and Ryan is one of your players who was called up for the games at the time, so yes, it is his personal problem, but also the federation’s. But from now on it will be my lawyers who will get in touch.”

The report also attempted to contact Dan Merkel, secretary general of the federation, but so far there has been no response.

On May 10, two weeks after the last conversations, the Brazilian and her husband sent extrajudicial notifications to the Cape Verdean Federation and FIFA. The documents included the detailed report, evidence of the case and a request for punishment of the player, specifically his exclusion from the World Cup. On May 20, they filled out FIFA’s Safeguarding form, intended for protection reports, but received no response.

Details of the incident and the complainant’s version

In her statement to the New Zealand police, the Brazilian said that, after Cape Verde’s first game in the FIFA Series, against Chile, she received an invitation to a meeting in a private team room at the hotel. She attended, believing she would need to act as an interpreter. However, she realized that it was a get-together and returned to her room when she felt unwell.

Still in her complaint, the Brazilian stated that, shortly after, she heard knocking on the door. Upon opening it, imagining a request for professional support, Ryan Mendes entered the room, physically attacking her with chokes, punches and bites, and then raped her.

At the hotel itself, the victim took photographs of the apparent injuries, including cuts to the mouth and bruises on the neck, leg and side of the body. These images were handed over to law enforcement authorities and were also viewed by the *ge* team.

The New Zealand police confirmed to the report the existence of an ongoing investigation. However, due to the country’s strict privacy laws, it did not release details about the names of the accused.

According to a criminal lawyer consulted by the family, the process of analyzing the forensic examinations, the current phase of the investigation, could last up to six months.