Rafael ‘Barata’ Freitas was recently accused of sexual assault and the allegations were not only made in the public eye, but also followed up legally as well. He was charged with the crimes after the victim produced video evidence from a home CCTV camera that allegedly showed the BJJ black belt and TUF veteran drugging and raping her while she was unconscious. However, Freitas and his legal counsel were adamant that the video showed nothing of the sort and instead, would actually prove to be the evidence that shows his innocence in what was essentially a consensual encounter.
It seems as though his legal counsel were right all along, as the State of New Mexico has dismissed all charges that were made against him as there is insufficient evidence to present a case at trial. Given that the entire alleged incident was caught on camera, it appears as though the footage of it was not as damning as it was first believed. Jason Bowles, the attorney representing Rafael ‘Barata’ Freitas in his sexual assault case forwarded the court documents to BloodyElbow, and they stated the following:
“Comes now the State of New Mexico by and through its Deputy District Attorney, Allysa Gambarella, and enters a nolle prosequi without prejudice in the above captioned case. While probable cause existed at the time of arrest, additional investigation has revealed that, at this time, there exists an insufficient factual basis to meet the State’s burden at trial. Nolle prosequi means that the state will no longer prosecute. In this case it means that De Freitas’ two charges of criminal sexual penetration in the third degree have been dismissed.”
