The two former employees who denounced Julio Iglesias at the beginning of the year have taken their accusations directly to a judge. Rebeca and Laura, fictitious names used to protect their identities, filed a complaint against the singer this Thursday before the Instruction Section of the Central Court of Instruction, integrated into the Audiencia Nacional.
The writ requests an investigation into alleged crimes of human trafficking for forced labor and servitude, against sexual freedom and workers' rights, injuries, and degrading treatment. The reported events date back to 2021, when both worked as live-in staff on Iglesias' properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
According to Women's Link, the organization that legally assists them, the women claim that the singer allegedly took advantage of his position of power and their labor vulnerability to recruit them, transfer them, and house them in his residences. There, they recount, they lived under a constant climate of intimidation, with forced and degrading working conditions and continuous episodes of harassment and sexual violence.
The filing of the complaint does not yet mean that there is an open judicial investigation against Iglesias. The body responsible for the matter must examine the documentation, decide whether Spanish justice has jurisdiction, and determine whether to admit the action. The two women have also requested specific protection measures during the procedure.
From the Prosecutor's Office file to the complaint
Rebeca and Laura reported the same events in January to the Prosecutor's Office of the Audiencia Nacional. The Public Ministry opened preliminary proceedings, took statements from the women, and closed the file a few days later, considering that it lacked jurisdiction to investigate conduct allegedly committed abroad.
That decision was procedural and left the merits of the accusations unexamined. The Prosecutor's Office's closure also does not automatically bind the judge who receives the new complaint, who must conduct their own analysis of Spanish jurisdiction and the arguments provided by the complainants.
The new writ maintains the account of alleged labor exploitation and sexual violence and incorporates the possible crime of degrading treatment. The women's legal representation has added an extensive list of judicial resolutions and international treaties to argue that the case can be investigated in Spain.
The main legal support for the complaint is found in article 23 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary. Women's Link argues that this norm allows for the prosecution of certain crimes committed outside the country when the alleged perpetrator has Spanish nationality, the acts are also punishable in the place where they occurred, and they have not yet been judged there. Julio Iglesias is Spanish and, according to the lawyers, the reported behaviors would also be criminal in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
The Public Prosecutor's Office applied a more restrictive interpretation in January. It pointed out that the complainants are foreigners, do not reside in Spain, and all the facts occurred outside national territory. It also indicated that Iglesias was not in the country either and that the Dominican and Bahamian authorities had not waived their own jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Spanish courts will thus be the first major obstacle that the complaint must overcome.
Three years of investigation and a request for protection
The accusations came to light after a journalistic investigation carried out over three years by 'elDiario.es' and 'Univision Noticias'. Journalists interviewed 15 people who had worked on various Julio Iglesias properties between the late nineties and 2023, in addition to reviewing messages, photographs, call records, employment documents, visas, and medical reports.
Rebeca and Laura described an environment of isolation and control while working as a domestic worker and physiotherapist. Their accounts include alleged sexual assaults, physical and verbal abuse, extensive working hours, and restrictions on leaving the residences. They also reported the performance of gynecological examinations and tests for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases on domestic service workers.
Women's Link believes that the employment relationship, their status as live-in workers, and the distance from their countries of origin could have aggravated their vulnerability. The organization has requested that they be able to participate in the process safely and without being publicly exposed. The requested protection measures are a central part of the new judicial strategy.
The two women have accompanied the complaint with a message addressed to other possible victims. Laura hopes "that no woman will suffer this type of abuse again", while Rebeca has asked those who work on the singer's properties "to remember that he is not invincible".
Julio Iglesias publicly rejected the accusations when they became known in January and assured they were false. His defense then requested the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction and questioned the damage caused to his reputation. The singer fully maintains his presumption of innocence while the court decides whether to open an investigation.
The Investigating Section must now decide whether to admit the complaint, recognize the competence of Spanish jurisdiction, and grant the protection measures requested by Rebeca and Laura.
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