A narrative of abuse, sexual and psychological violence, in a piece setting marked by “isolation, control and terror” within the Caribbean paradise. This is what emerges from the unique investigation by elDiario.es and Univision Noticias, which collects the testimonies of two former staff of Julio Iglesias and led to the opening of a confidential preliminary investigation by the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office.
The two ladies, a home employee and a physiotherapist, stated they labored as interns in 2021 within the residences of the well-known Spanish artist, now 82 years outdated, between Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and Lyford Cay (Bahamas). The first alleged sufferer, Rebecca, was 22 years outdated on the time of the occasions. She reported that Iglesias, then 77 years outdated, typically referred to as her into his room on the finish of the work day. In the lengthy testimony he describes non-consensual sexual acts and repeated assaults, which, in line with his account, generally occurred within the presence of a superior. But additionally “humiliations” and bodily and verbal harassment.
The second girl, Laura, 28 years outdated, the singer’s private physiotherapist, studies undesirable kissing and touching and non-consensual intercourse.
Both communicate of a system that may have “normalized abuse”, ranging from recruitment: adverts on social media geared toward younger ladies, requests for physique pictures and intimate questions upon arrival. Over the three years of the investigation, journalists contacted 15 former staff in whole whose descriptions “converge on a climate of tension, normalized mistreatment and conditions of isolation for female staff”.
They tried to contact each Julio Iglesias and his lawyer, however didn’t get any solutions to their questions. On January 5 the worldwide group Women’s Link Worldwide offered one grievance to the Procuratorate of the National Court for alleged “crimes against freedom and sexual identity such as abuse and sexual assault” and for alleged “trafficking of human beings for the purpose of imposing forced labor and servitude” on behalf of the 2 former staff, who didn’t dare to offer “public testimony” of the violence that they had suffered.
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