Chilean President Gabriel Boric has been accused in a criminal complaint of sexually harassing a woman over a decade ago, an allegation he "categorically" denies, his lawyer said on Monday.
"The president ... rejects and categorically denies the complaint," said attorney Jonatan Valenzuela in a statement, referring to an alleged incident in 2013.
The complaint was filed on September 6 with the local prosecutor's office in Magallanes, in the far south of Chile, Boric's home region. It dates back to a time when he was undertaking a legal internship in the city of Punta Arenas. A year later, he was elected as a lawmaker representing the region.
Cristián Crisosto, who heads the Magallanes prosecutor's office, confirmed that "there is a criminal case related to the facts outlined," adding that a special team is investigating the complaint.
According to Valenzuela, the complaint was filed by a woman who, at the time, sent Boric 25 unsolicited and non-consensual emails, including one with explicit images.
"It is the president who is the victim of a systematic harassment situation through the sending of emails," the lawyer told journalists on Tuesday.
Boric and the accuser had never had a relationship or were even friends, Valenzuela said.
More than 10 years later, the woman "filed a complaint without any basis whatsoever against now-President Gabriel Boric." The accusations include claims that the president shared “private images.”
Boric, now 38, was 27 at the time and had just completed his law degree. His lawyer described the complaint as "groundless."
"My client never had any emotional or friendly relationship with her and they have not communicated since July 2014," Valenzuela added.
According to the lawyer, the president's legal team became aware of the complaint through a routine review of events that could have public significance and decided to make the matter public.
The accusation against Boric comes as his administration is grappling with a separate scandal involving sexual abuse. Former crime czar and ex-deputy interior minister Manuel Monsalve was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of raping his subordinate.
Critics say top officials including Boric and Interior Minister Carolina Toha reacted too slowly to the complaint against the former official. Both cases are especially damaging to an administration that has embraced feminism and prioritised women’s rights.
Boric, who is ineligible to run for re-election after his four-year presidential term ends in 2026, enjoys special legal immunity and must first undergo an impeachment trial in the justice department before being formally investigated.
– TIMES/AFP/BLOOMBERG
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