Julio Iglesias accused of sexual assault: NPR

BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish prosecutors are examining allegations that Grammy Award-winning singer Julio Iglesias sexually assaulted two former employees at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.

The allegations are linked to media reports earlier this week that Iglesias sexually and physically assaulted two women who worked at his residences in the Caribbean between January and October 2021, the Spanish Attorney General’s Office told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Iglesias has not yet spoken publicly about the allegations. Russell L. King, a Miami-based entertainment attorney who lists Iglesias as a client on his website, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP.

The Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office, which handles Spanish National Court cases, said it received formal allegations against Iglesias by an unnamed party on January 5. Iglesias will likely be brought before the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes committed by Spanish citizens while abroad, according to the court’s press office.

Searching for justice in Spain over the Caribbean

Women’s Link Worldwide, an NGO, said in a statement that it represents the two women who filed the complaint with the Spanish court. The group said the women accuse Iglesias of “crimes against sexual freedom and compensation such as sexual harassment” and “human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor and servitude.”

In their testimony, the women also accused Iglesias of regularly checking their cell phones, preventing them from leaving the home where they work, and requiring them to work up to 16 hours a day, without a contract or days off, the organization said.

The organization said it had not contacted authorities in the Bahamas or the Dominican Republic, and that it did not know whether authorities in those Caribbean countries had launched an investigation.

Gemma Fernandez, a senior lawyer at Women’s Link Worldwide, said in an online press conference on Wednesday that “Spanish legislation on sexual and gender-based violence and trafficking could be an interesting option” for the two women making the allegations against Iglesias.

“Listening to what (the two women) seek and their definitions of justice, it seems to us that filing a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Spanish National Court was the most appropriate path for their definition of justice,” Fernandez said. “That is why we support them on this path.”

Jovana Ríos Cisneros, executive director of Women’s Link Worldwide, confirmed that Spanish prosecutors decided to take the two women’s statements and grant them protected witness status.

“Hearing from the District Attorney’s Office is a very important step in the search for justice,” she said.

Fernandez said prosecutors have not set a date for taking statements from the women, and noted that prosecutors have up to six months to determine whether the information they receive warrants criminal prosecution. She added that those six months could exceptionally be extended to a year.

The district attorney’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Singer under the microscope

Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias published the joint investigation into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.

Rios said the women initially contacted elDiario.es, which began investigating the allegations but also advised the women to seek legal assistance.

Spanish government spokeswoman Elma Saez said media reports regarding Iglesias “demand respect.”

“Once again I can reaffirm this government’s firm and complete commitment to confront any act of violence, harassment or assault against women,” Saez said on Tuesday after the media reports were published.

Banky Corsino, spokesman for the Dominican Republic’s Attorney General’s Office, declined to comment, saying he could neither confirm nor deny the investigation.

By law, any case in the Caribbean nation that involves sexual assault or violence must be investigated by prosecutors, even if no one files a complaint.

Iglesias, 82, is one of the world’s most successful music artists, having sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages. After starting out in Spain, it gained immense popularity in the United States and around the world in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias.

Julio Iglesias won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance in 1988 for his album “Un Hombre Solo.” He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards in 2019.

Spain’s culture minister said on Wednesday that his leftist government, which makes women’s rights and equality among its priorities, will also consider stripping Iglesias of the state’s Golden Order of Merit in Fine Arts that he received in 2010.

“It is something that we are studying and evaluating, because obviously we feel compelled to do so when we are faced with such a serious situation,” Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said.