Relief for Julio Iglesias as Spain drops sexual assault case

MADRID, Spain: Investigations into accusations of sexual assault by Julio Iglesias in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic have been shelved, Spanish state prosecutors said on January 23.

Prosecutors concluded that Spain's National Court lacked the jurisdiction to judge the matter.

After two former workers accused the Grammy-winning singer of sexually abusing them at his homes in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas earlier this month, Spanish prosecutors had begun investigations.

Iglesias, however, denied the claims on social media and said he had never hurt, forced, or disrespected any woman. The accusations were completely false and made him very sad, he added.

According to the group Women's Link Worldwide, which represents the women, they filed a complaint in a Spanish court earlier this month.

The group said the women accused Iglesias of sexual harassment and of human trafficking for forced work.

The women also said he often checked their phones, did not allow them to leave his house, and made them work up to 16 hours a day without a contract or days off.

When the case was filed in Spain, the group said they had not contacted authorities in the Bahamas or the Dominican Republic and did not know if those countries had started their own investigations.

Iglesias, 82, is one of the world's most successful singers since his first album in 1969. He has sold over 300 million records in many languages.

He became very popular in the U.S. and around the world in the 1970s and 1980s, partly due to duets with famous U.S. singers such as Willie Nelson and Diana Ross.

He won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance in 1988 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

He is also the father of pop star Enrique Iglesias.

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