The Magallanes Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Chilean Antarctic confirmed this Monday the existence of a criminal case linked to a complaint for sexual harassment against the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric.
El fiscal regional Cristian Crisosto He stated that the complaint is in a preliminary phase and has not yet been formalized, although the investigation is ongoing.
“Regarding the statement published by lawyer Jonatan Valenzuela Saldías, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica can say that there is indeed a criminal case related to the facts indicated.”explained Crisosto.
The prosecutor also clarified that the cause is “deformalized“, that is, that the formal judicial process has not yet begun, but that various procedures related to the investigation are already being carried out.
Crisosto also stressed that the cause has a reserved charactersomething common in this type of investigation.
“We are working with a team specialized in it and by the way, the cause is confidential.“, he noted, while stating that the proceedings will continue in the coming weeks, without going into details about the exact nature of the complaint or the progress of the investigation.
Investigations will continue under strict confidentiality measures.
The case was made publicly known on Monday night, when the lawyer Jonatan Valenzuela SaldíasBoric’s defender, revealed that the complaint was filed on September 6 past.
According to the version provided by the president’s defense, The harassment would have occurred in 2014when Boric was doing his professional practice in the city of Punta Arenas. According to the lawyer, a woman would have sent a series of emails to the president, including some messages with explicit content.
The complaint was filed in September of this year, after several years of no contact between both parties. According to the lawyer’s version, Boric never responded to the emails or maintained communication with the womanwho now accuses him.
Valenzuela explained that between July 2013 and July 2014, Boric was the victim of a “systematic harassment by this woman, who, as indicated, sent up to 25 emails from different directions, some of which contained explicit images that were neither requested nor consented to.
“The crimes reported were not committed by the President“, declared Valenzuela, who reaffirmed that Boric considers himself a victim in this context and that the accusations of sexual harassment are unfounded.
Following the complaint, several politicians have spoken out on the matter.
José Antonio Kastleader of the Republican Party and former presidential candidate, criticized the Boric government, suggesting that his administration attempted hide the complaint.
In his statement, Kast noted that for two months The government “hid a complaint of harassment against the President of the Republic”. He added that the complaint, filed before the 2021 elections, should have been revealed to the public at the time.
“They decided to make it public after the elections“, indicated Kast
On the other hand, Boric’s lawyer announced that he will offer a press conference this Tuesday, November 26 at 07:00s, in which the details of the complaint and the position of the person represented will be addressed.
In the same line, the Minister General Secretary of Government, Camila Vallejowill also refer to the situation after Valenzuela’s press conference. The government, for its part, has maintained a position of support for the president, who have reiterated that Boric categorically denies the accusations against him.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office will continue with the investigation under a summary secrecy process. As the proceedings progress, it is expected that more details about the events and development of the case will come to light, but for now, information remains limited.
(With information from AFP)
