 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A sexual assault complaint has been filed against Puerto Rico pop star Ricky Martin, who recently sued his nephew over what he said were false allegations of sexual abuse.
The
complaint was filed Friday at a police precinct in the capital of San Juan, police
spokesman Edward RamÃrez told The Associated Press on Saturday. Information
including who filed the complaint and details of the allegations are not
public, given the nature of the complaint.
A person who
was not authorized to speak about the case confirmed that Martin’s nephew,
Dennis Yadiel Sánchez Martin, filed the complaint. The person said the
complaint does not automatically trigger an arrest because the alleged incident
is not recent, adding that police will investigate and determine whether charges
are warranted.
Sánchez
previously requested a restraining order against Martin in July, but a judge
later archived the case after Sánchez admitted under oath that he had never
been sexually assaulted by the singer.
Flavia
Fernández, a spokeswoman for Martin, told the AP that his legal team is
evaluating the situation and not issuing public comment for now.
On Thursday,
the artist’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against his nephew, whom they described
as “troubled.” They accused him of extortion, malicious persecution, abuse of
law and damages.
They said
Sánchez’s allegations cost Martin at least $10 million worth of canceled
contracts and projects, plus another $20 million in damages to his reputation.
The lawsuit
states that Sánchez would send up to 10 messages a day to Martin, the majority
“meaningless diatribes without any particular purpose.” It also accuses him of
publishing Martin’s private number, forcing him to change it.
In addition,
the lawsuit said Sánchez falsely claimed he had a romantic relationship with
Martin for seven months and that the singer didn’t want it to end and would
call Sánchez with frequency.
“Nothing
further from the truth,” the lawsuit stated.
Attorneys
also noted that a judge previously issued Sánchez two restraining orders in an
unrelated stalking case.