STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish prosecutors on Thursday dropped a rape investigation that was launched in connection with soccer star Kylian Mbappé's visit to Stockholm in October.
In a statement, lead investigator Marina Chirakova said there was not enough evidence to continue the investigation, which centered on an incident at a hotel.
“During the course of the investigation, there has been a designated person suspected on reasonable grounds of rape and two cases of sexual assault, but my assessment is that the evidence is not sufficient to proceed and the investigation is therefore closed," Chirakova said. “The designated person has not been notified of suspicion of a crime.”
Prosecutors never publicly named the suspect in the investigation, but many Swedish media reported it was Real Madrid striker Mbappé, who visited Stockholm in October during a break in the Spanish league.
At the time Mbappé’s legal team dismissed those reports as false.
Mbappe’s lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard and the player’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Thursday.
In an interview that aired Sunday on French TV station Canal Plus, Mbappé said he was “surprised” by the reports that he was the subject of a rape investigation and he had not been contacted by Swedish authorities.
“These are things that come into your life like that, you can’t see them coming,” Mbappé told Canal Plus. “It’s just incomprehension. I don’t think it weighed on me in the sense that I have never considered myself involved.”
The 25-year-old soccer star appeared in Stockholm on Oct. 10 during an international break instead of playing for France in the Nations League. Just days later Swedish media reported he was the subject of a rape investigation.
At the time Swedish prosecutors confirmed that a rape investigation began but declined to comment further.
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FILE - France's Kylian Mbappe looks up as he wears a face mask during a team training session in Leipzig, Germany, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, file)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe takes control of the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe warms up prior the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after he scored his side's first goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Real Madrid at the Bergamo's stadium, in Bergamo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Fewer grandparents were living with and taking care of grandchildren, there was a decline in young children going to preschool and more people stayed put in their homes in the first part of the 2020s compared with the last part of the 2010s, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday, reflecting some of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest figures from the most comprehensive survey of American life compares the years of 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, timeframes before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the virus' spread. The American Community Survey data show how lives were changed and family relationships altered by the pandemic and other occurrences like the opioid crisis.
The survey of 3.5 million households covers more than 40 topics, including ancestry, fertility, marital status, commutes, veterans status, disability and housing.
The decrease in grandparents' taking care of their grandchildren is most likely the result of a decline in opioid-related deaths during the more recent timeframe since substance abuse is a leading reason that grandparents find themselves raising grandchildren. A reduction in the number of incarcerated women also likely played a role, said Susan Kelley, a professor emerita of nursing at Georgia State University.
“It's very rarely for positive reasons that grandparents find themselves in this situation. Usually, it's a tragic situation in an adult child's life, either a death, incarceration or mental health issues which correlate with substance abuse," Kelly said. "Many grandparents thrive in that role, but there are still socioeconomic and emotional burdens on the grandparents."
A stronger economy in the most recent period also may be a reason that the number of grandparents living with their grandchildren declined from 7.2 million to 6.8 million by making it less likely that adult children with their own children were seeking housing help from their parents, she said.
The decline in the number of young children enrolled in preschool stemmed from an unwillingness to send young children to school and the closure of many schools at the height of the pandemic, according to the Census Bureau.
“These data show how the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on patterns of early childhood education,” the bureau said in a separate report. "Future research will show if this was the start of a long-term trend or if enrollment will bounce back to prior levels."
Americans continued to get older, with the median age rising to 38.7 from 37.9 and the nation's share of senior citizens up from 16.8% from 15.2%. The share of households with a computer jumped to almost 95% from almost 89%, as did the share of households with a broadband connection to almost 90% from 80%.
Additionally, fewer people moved and more people stayed put in the most recent time period compared with the earlier one, in many cases because of rising home values and the limited availability of homes to buy.
Home values increased by 21.7% and the percentage of vacant homes dropped from 12.2% to 10.4%. The median home value jumped from $249,400 to $303,400 nationwide.
In some vacation communities popular with the wealthy, the bump was even more dramatic, such as in the county that is home to Aspen, Colorado, where it went from $758,800 to $1.1 million, and in the county which is home to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, where it jumped from $812,400 to $1.1 million.
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FILE - Gabriel Swift, 7, second left, wins a bike race against his brother, Isaiah Swift, 5, and his grandparents, Kim and Steve Swift, as they ride their bikes around the loop in the empty parking lot on Monday at One Faith Fellowship in the 1300 block of Tamarack in Owensboro, Ky., on April 1, 2024. (Alan Warren/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP)/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP, File)
FILE - Aaliyah Floyd, 10, right, selects school supplies with volunteer Cindy Blomquist, left, at the annual Back to School Distribution Day at The Pantry, Friday, July 29, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Pantry works with grandparents who are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren, offering free backpacks, lunch boxes, school supplies and sneakers. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
FILE - Third-grader Dallin Curry, 8, smiles as he talks with his grandmother, Mary Durr, Sept. 6, 2024, during a Grandparents Day celebration in the lunchroom at Burns Elementary School in Owensboro, Ky. (Alan Warren/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP, File)
