By Lucinda Elliott
MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) – Chile launched a preliminary investigation into a sexual harassment complaint against President Gabriel Boric on Tuesday in a blow to his leftwing administration that is grappling with a separate scandal involving sexual abuse and low poll ratings.
The criminal case was confirmed on Nov. 26 by the regional prosecutor’s office of Magallanes in southern Chile, where the alleged harassment took place over a decade ago.
Through his lawyer, the 38-year-old Chilean President denied the allegations earlier on Tuesday, calling them “baseless”.
Cristian Crisosto, who heads the Magallanes prosecutor’s office said that “there is a criminal case related to the facts outlined,” adding that a special team had been deployed to investigate.
The ongoing investigation marks another blow for Boric, whose leftist government has sought to prioritize issues around women’s rights. His popularity has fallen in opinion polls and led to a poor performance at the ballot box in recent regional elections.
The allegations state he sexually harassed a woman in 2013 while living in the city of Punta Arenas. Boric was 27 at the time and was completing a law degree.
According to the president’s lawyer, the complaint was filed by a woman who, at the time, sent Boric dozens of unsolicited and non-consensual emails, including one with “explicit images that were not requested or consented to.”
Reuters could not obtain a copy of the complaint, and could not independently verify the allegations.
The president only became aware of the complaint made through a routine review and decided to make the matter public, according to his lawyer, Valenzuela Saldias.
The accusation comes after a separate rape allegation against a senior member of Boric’s cabinet last month that pollsters said had sapped support for his administration ahead of a presidential election next year.
Former deputy interior minister, Manuel Monsalve, was arrested in November on suspicion of raping a 32-year-old female staffer.
(Reporting by Lucinda Elliott in Montevideo. Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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