Spanish prosecutors dismiss sex abuse case against Julio Iglesias

Pallade Veneta - Spanish prosecutors dismiss sex abuse case against Julio Iglesias

Spanish prosecutors dismiss sex abuse case against Julio Iglesias / Photo: RONALDO SCHEMIDT - AFP

Spanish prosecutors on Friday shelved a sex abuse and human trafficking complaint against veteran singer Julio Iglesias, saying Spain's courts had no jurisdiction in the case.

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Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- alleged they had suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.

The allegations dominated headlines in Spain after being aired last week in a joint investigation by Spanish newspaper elDiario.es and US television network Univision.

But the preliminary investigation was dismissed because of a "lack of jurisdiction of the Spanish courts", Spanish prosecutors wrote in their decision.

Advocacy groups Women's Link Worldwide and Amnesty International had said a complaint filed with Spanish prosecutors on January 5 outlined alleged acts that could be considered "a crime of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour" and "crimes against sexual freedom".

Iglesias subjected them to "sexual harassment, regularly checked their mobile phones, restricted their ability to leave the home where they worked, and required them to work up to 16 hours a day without days off", according to testimony collected by the two groups.

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

Iglesias's lawyer, Jose Antonio Choclan, told Spain's top criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, earlier this week that the alleged acts should be prosecuted where they occurred, requesting the case be closed.

The complaint was submitted in Spain and not the Caribbean countries where the crimes allegedly took place because of the nature of Spanish legislation on gender-based violence and trafficking, Women's Link Worldwide said.

Iglesias is a Grammy winner with more than 300 million records sold in a career spanning decades.

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