Sometimes, criminal cases involving celebrities take turns a screenwriter could not or would not dare to come up with. Such is the ongoing case with singer Ricky Martin, and a restraining order that was filed against him earlier this month. Please note before you read any further, this story does involve allegations of both domestic abuse and sexual acts between family members. So if this is too much (we do not blame you if it is), you may want to stop reading now.
A restraining order was filed against Ricky Martin on July 2nd, 2022 in Puerto Rico. According to police spokesperson Axel Valencia, Martin had been in a relationship for seven months with another man which ended on terms Martin “did not accept.” Not willing to let things go, Martin continued to loiter and linger around the other man’s residence. These acts caused the then unnamed man to fear for his safety, resulting in him appealing to the courts for a restraining order which was subsequently granted.
According the publication Marca (via TMZ), the accuser is Martin’s own 21-year old nephew, Dennis Yadiel Sanchez.
This brings along with it a host of complicated issues involving power and influence in addition to what would already be harrowing domestic abuse allegations. Since Puerto Rico law does not allow for the revealing of a person’s name in a restraining order/domestic abuse case, the information regarding the accuser had to have come from someone else. In this situation, it was from Ricky Martin’s brother, Eric Martin.
We do want to point out no official confirmation of the accuser’s identity has been made by the authorities, though.
Puerto Rico also has very strict laws regarding incest, with punishments that could land Martin in jail for up to 50 years. He’s due in court on July 21st. TMZ states they reached out to Martin’s representatives, but did not get a response. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that in legal matter of this criminal magnitude, the typical response is to not reply at all. Prosecutors can’t take a statement and use it against a defendant if no statement regarding the matter is given.
The only public comment from Ricky Martin regarding the situation has been a Facebook post.
UPDATE 7/21/2022
A Puerto Rico court has archived a restraining order against Ricky Martin. The case was closed because the petitioner ceased his claims voluntarily. Martin says that he was a “victim of lies.”
“I’ve been working onstage in the public eye for almost four decades,” he said on a video released by his publicists. “And I’ve never, ever had to deal with anything as painful as what I’ve been through in the last two weeks.”
Martin’s legal team spoke about the incident, “This was never anything more than a troubled individual making false allegations with absolutely nothing to substantiate them. We are glad that our client saw justice done and can now move forward with his life and his career.”
He is expected to perform a concert Friday and Saturday with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
