A complaint filed in Spain against singer Julio Iglesias for alleged sexual harassment and assault in 2021 against two employees in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, which was dismissed in his home country for 'lack of jurisdiction,' could be accepted by Dominican courts, lawyers agreed in statements to EFE. The alleged incidents occurred in the Dominican Republic, specifically at Iglesias's mansion in Punta Cana (east), one of the complainants is Dominican, and the singer holds Dominican nationality, 'so obviously the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Dominican Republic, not Spain,' Dominican jurist and academic Cándido Simón told EFE. The Spanish Prosecutor's concluded on Friday that the legal requirements were not met for the justice system to investigate the complaint because, it argued, the Organic Law of the Judicial Power of Spain requires, among other things, that the accused be a Spanish citizen, that there be no open procedure in the place where the facts would have occurred or in an international court, and that there be a 'material connection with Spain,' for example, that the victims be Spanish or residents of the country. 'The competent jurisdiction is the Dominican Republic where the facts are allegedly committed,' lawyer Simón maintained, describing the Spanish Prosecutor's Office's decision in this regard as 'correct.' The case affects a former employee of the singer's household and a physiotherapist, who provided work documents, photographs, recordings, WhatsApp messages, and call logs to prove the veracity of their accusations, which include sexual assaults, mistreatment, and systematic workplace humiliation. Dominican criminal lawyer and Criminal Law professor René del Rosario explained to EFE that the complainants can 'perfectly' go to the prosecutor's office in Higüey, the main municipality of the La Altagracia province where Punta Cana is located, and file a complaint or lawsuit, but also the Public Ministry, as it is a public action, can order an investigation. 'In Law and Medicine, it is dangerous to make predictions,' he pointed out, 'but in this type of case, even without the (media) profile of Julio Iglesias, the action usually does not proceed due to the scientific difficulty of being able to establish that the events happened and more so when the suspect denies it.' After the complaint became known, Julio Iglesias assured that he has never 'abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman,' and later attempted to join this investigation to have direct access to the content of the complaint, but the Prosecutor's Office of his country rejected his request. The two women filed the complaint on January 5, and days later, on the 16th, the Prosecutor's Office granted the complainants protected witness status, represented by the organization Women's Link Worldwide. The opening of this case became known the same day as a journalistic investigation by eldiario.es.
