Chilean prosecutors on Tuesday accused far-left President Gabriel Boric of “illegal dissemination of intimate images” as part of a criminal sexual harassment complaint filed against him in September by an unidentified woman. announced.
chile government Confirmed On Monday, it was announced that sexual harassment charges had been filed against Boric in the southern state of Magallanes over incidents that allegedly took place between 2013 and 2014.
Borich denied the charges through his lawyer Jonathan Valenzuela. The president's lawyers argued that Borich was the victim of a harassment campaign by the woman who made the accusations more than a decade ago.
Chilean President Gabriel Borich speaks at the scene of the assassinations of Orlando Letelier and Loni Moffitt at Sheridan Circle in Washington, D.C., September 23, 2023. (José Luis Magana/Associated Press)
Borich's defense team provided 25 copies to prosecutors. email The document, which the woman allegedly sent to Bolick at the time of the incident, claims to prove that Bolick was the victim of the harassment, not the perpetrator. Valenzuela said the messages the woman allegedly sent contained “explicit content.”
The incident allegedly happened more than 10 years ago, when Boric was a 27-year-old lawyer in Punta Arenas and shared office space with the woman who accused him.
Prosecutor Cristian Crisosto admitted on Monday: existence sexual harassment accusation, chrisosto reportedly On Tuesday afternoon, Bolick announced that he was being investigated on charges of “illegal dissemination of intimate images,” but did not mention sexual harassment allegations. The ongoing investigation is being conducted under strict confidentiality measures.
“The public prosecutor's office is investigating a case that began in September 2024 on charges of unlawful dissemination of intimate images,” Crisosto said on Tuesday. “The victim has filed a complaint against the defendant in this case, the President of the Republic, Gabriel Bolique Font.”
“This case is in an informal state and several proceedings are pending,” he continued. “And the victim has been provided with care and advice in all activities of the case from day one. And for now the case remains in abeyance.”
Jaime García, a Chilean lawyer who identified himself as an “advisor” to the woman who accused Boric, told Chilean news outlets. advancefurther details about the incident have emerged. Garcia argued that because he is currently acting as the woman's advisor, he does not have legal sponsorship or legal representation.
Garcia said the woman filed a complaint against Boric in September after intimate images of her were leaked online this year. The images were allegedly stored on a USB thumb drive belonging to a woman who Garcia claimed went missing from her desk while working next to Borich more than a decade ago.
“This complaint has nothing to do with what the current president allegedly received in the email, but rather with the loss of the pen drive.” [thumb drive] “The alleged victim had it in her desk when she was doing a law internship with Gabriel Borich, who was sitting next to her,” Garcia told Exante.
“That pen drive was lost, but it contained images. When she saw them circulating on the Internet in the middle of this year, she said only the president could release them. “That's why she concluded that she would press charges,” he continued.
According to Ex-Ante, the crime of “illegal dissemination of intimate images” carries a penalty of 61 to 540 days in prison or a fine of 330,000 to 660,000 Chilean pesos (approximately $330 to $660).
The woman spoke anonymously to a Chilean news channel. meganoticias Tuesday evening. She described herself as the victim of a persecution campaign and insisted that her accusations were directed not only at Bolić but “all those responsible.”
“It's a very complicated thing for me because it's a very private thing and I'm not a public figure. That person who didn't want to go public. [Boric] I published it. And this charge is not only against him, but also against those responsible,” the woman said.
“The investigation has just begun, so I don't know why they made it public,” he added.
The woman also claimed in an interview that she was the victim of hacking by someone in Mr. Bolick's circle. She also denied sending intimate photos to Mr. Borich, refuting claims made by the president's lawyers on Monday.
“What happens is it starts from there. I found the photo on the Internet, so he was the one who had access to it and everything started from there,” the woman told Meganoticias. .
When asked about the sexual harassment accusation that Borich's lawyer mentioned in her announcement, the woman replied, “We're investigating. I can't say for sure that it happened, but I will say it's under investigation.”
“The word sexual harassment I'm talking about is not physical. There's a special person who you can look into if you want, and I did, and it's a special criminal person. It's persecution. It's like harassment. It's not physical,” the woman said.
CNN Chile reported On Tuesday, it was announced that the woman, who lives in the city of Villa Alemana, has been involved in at least four recent legal proceedings, including allegations of domestic violence, simple intimidation and public disorder. The latter was reportedly filed days after she filed the complaint against Borick.
The woman was found guilty of robbery with threats at a gas station in November and sentenced to three years and one day in prison, which was eventually replaced with intensive probation, according to CNN Chile.
Jaime Garcia, the woman's “adviser,” said her criminal history was “irrelevant to the validity of the charges filed” against Boric.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
