Madrid prosecutors end probe into Julio Iglesias over Caribbean allegations

Prosecutors in Madrid said they have ended an investigation into the singer Julio Iglesias, saying they lacked legal authority to examine claims that he sexually abused two former employees in the Caribbean.

The decision followed a complaint filed nearly three weeks earlier by two women who accused Iglesias, 82, of abusing one of them in the Dominican Republic and the other in the Bahamas. Prosecutors said they closed the case because 'all of the allegedly criminal acts would have occurred outside Spanish territory' and because the accusers 'neither reside in Spain nor maintain their center of life, interests, or activity in this country.'

Iglesias denied the accusations in a social media post on Jan. 16, calling them 'absolutely false' and saying he had not 'abused, coerced, or been disrespectful to any woman.' Two Spanish-language news outlets had published a three-year joint investigation highlighting broader allegations from 15 people who accused the singer of sexual assault and harassment; Iglesias and his representatives did not respond to requests for comment about those broader claims.

Iglesias has sold hundreds of millions of records over a six-decade career and is the father of singer Enrique Iglesias. Prosecutors' statement closed the Madrid inquiry; the source does not report any ongoing Spanish legal action.

Key Topics

World, Julio Iglesias, Madrid, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Sexual Assault