Prosecutors Drop Sexual Assault Complaint Against Julio Iglesias

Spanish state prosecutors shelved the probe after concluding its National Court lacked jurisdiction to judge the matter.

MADRID (AP) — Spanish state prosecutors said Friday they were shelving an initial investigation into accusations of sexual assault by Julio Iglesias in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic after concluding that Spain’s National Court lacked jurisdiction to judge the matter.

Earlier this month, Spanish prosecutors had opened an investigation studying allegations that the 82-year-old Grammy-winning global singing star had sexually assaulted two former employees at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.

Iglesias denied the accusations, writing on social media that: “With deep sorrow, I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked at my home. I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness.”

An email seeking comment sent to a Florida attorney whose website says Iglesias is among his clients was not immediately answered.

The two women had presented a complaint to the Spanish court earlier this month, according to Women’s Link Worldwide, a nongovernmental organization that represents them. The group said that the women were accusing Iglesias of “crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity such as sexual harassment” and of “human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor and servitude.”