Julio Iglesias faces new sexual abuse complaint

MADRID, Spain — Two women ex-employees of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias have filed another complaint against him for alleged sexual abuse and forced labor, the advocacy group representing them said on Friday, insisting Spain had jurisdiction to investigate.

Spanish prosecutors in January shelved a first complaint over the same allegations against Iglesias, a Grammy winner with more than 300 million records sold in a career spanning decades.

The women, a domestic worker and a physiotherapist, allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias’s properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.

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Iglesias, 82, called the accusations “absolutely false,” saying he had never “abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman”.

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Prosecutors shelved the original complaint, saying Spanish courts had no jurisdiction over events that allegedly happened in the Caribbean countries, which were “fully competent” to investigate.

Women’s Link Worldwide said the women — referred to as Rebeca and Laura — had filed the new complaint on Thursday for alleged acts including “sexual harassment and assault” as well as “forced and degrading work conditions”.

The organization said Spanish courts were competent because of a law that “makes it possible to investigate and prosecute offences committed outside the country when relevant links with Spain exist”.

“If a Spanish person commits an offence outside Spain, Spain can try it, as long as that same act is also considered an offence in the country where it happened,” Women’s Link said in a statement.

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READ: Julio Iglesias reflects on life

“The Spanish state is obliged to guarantee equal access to justice, irrespective of who the accused person is,” said Women’s Link executive director Jovana Rios Cisnero.

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It was unclear what chance the latest complaint has of succeeding, given the cited law existed when the allegations were first presented.

In January, Spanish prosecutors said their shelving of the case did not prevent the women from filing their complaint in other jurisdictions.

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Iglesias is the father of fellow superstar singer Enrique Iglesias. /ra