Spanish Prosecutors Drop Julio Iglesias Assault Probe

Spanish state prosecutors said on Jan. 23 they were shelving an initial investigation into accusations that Julio Iglesias, 82, sexually assaulted two former employees at residences in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic after concluding Spain’s National Court lacked jurisdiction.

Women’s Link Worldwide said the two women filed a complaint earlier this month with Spain’s National Court accusing Iglesias of sexual harassment, human trafficking for forced labor, and coercion, including allegations they were barred from leaving and forced to work up to 16 hours a day.

Julio Iglesias, 82, denied the accusations in an Instagram post saying, "I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman," and an email seeking comment to a Florida attorney whose website lists Iglesias as a client was not immediately answered, officials said.

A joint investigation by elDiario.es and Univision gathered testimony from 15 former employees, and prosecutors said they remotely questioned the two complainants and granted them protected witness status, records show.

Prosecutors said the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas can pursue prosecutions and that Women’s Link Worldwide could still file directly with Madrid's investigating courts, leaving possible next steps in Caribbean jurisdictions and Spain's judiciary unresolved.