This Monday night, Jonatan Valenzuela, personal lawyer of the Chilean president Gabriel Boricconfirmed a sexual harassment complaint filed against the president in his hometown –Punta Arenas-, the past September 6.
The complaint was filed by a womenof legal age, whom Boric met more than 10 years, and according to the defender, the story is the other way around and it is the president who would have been harassed by the complainant.
Through a press release, the defender maintained that between July 2013 and July 2014 President Boric was “victim of systematic harassment -via email- by an adult woman whom she met in the context of her professional practice in Punta Arenas”.
“25 emails were sent to him from different addresses of emails from the same person, including in one of them the unsolicited or unconsensual sending of explicit images”, he noted.
“Ten years later, the sender of the emails filed a complaint without any basis against the already President Gabriel Boric on September 6, 2024,” added the defender.
“Since July 2014, there has been no communication between my client and the sender of those emails. My client never had an emotional or friendly relationship with her and they have not had any communication since July 2014.″, he indicated.
Regarding the legal action, he explained that “the complaint was filed with the Magallanes Regional Prosecutor’s Officeaccusing an alleged dissemination of private images and alleged sexual harassment according to article 494 of the Penal Code, events that never occurred.”
“The first instruction I received from my client was to deliver all the emails that the sender sent and the necessary background information for the timely clarification of the facts to the Prosecutor’s Office (…) On October 22, 2024, in Punta Arenas, I delivered all the emails sent to Gabriel Boric to prove the falsehood of the facts reported and report the harassment suffered by my client to the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Cristián Crisosto Rifo”, Valenzuela indicated.
“Today, Monday, November 25, one month after the last communication with the Magallanes Prosecutor’s Office, I requested a new interview with the prosecutor in charge to reiterate my complete willingness to clarify the facts.. Due to the time that has passed and the new interview requested, it was considered to make this information public,” stated the jurist.
At the closing of the document, the defense lawyer assured that President Boric “rejects and categorically denies the complaint, and this will be demonstrated in the corresponding instance”.
Meanwhile, the regional prosecutor of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, Cristian Crisostoconfirmed that there is an ongoing criminal case related to the sexual harassment complaint.
He specified that, although the complaint has been received, the case has not yet been formalized before the courts.
In statements to the press, Cristian Crisosto explained that the criminal case is still in a preliminary phase, known as “deformalized”, and that various procedures are currently being carried out to clarify the facts.
The prosecutor indicated that the investigation is progressing, but that there are pending steps for its complete resolution.
Likewise, he indicated that, due to the nature of the case, the management of the information will be carried out with complete confidentiality. He clarified that it is common for these types of investigations to be handled with discretion to protect both the parties involved and the development of the investigation.
Finally, Crisosto affirmed that the specialized team is actively working on the case, however, he stressed that, as in any criminal case, all the corresponding legal procedures must be followed to ensure that the rights of all people involved are respected.
