The short court hearing took place today (July 21) in San Juan after a Puerto Rican judge granted a restraining order against the singer earlier this month.
“Just as we had anticipated, the temporary protection order was not extended by the Court,” Martin’s attorneys Joaquín Monserrate Matienzo, Carmelo Dávila and Harry Massanet Pastrana said in the statement. “The accuser confirmed to the court that his decision to dismiss the matter was his alone, without any outside influence or pressure, and the accuser confirmed he was satisfied with his legal representation in the matter. The request came from the accuser asking to dismiss the case. 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.”
Billboard reached out to the accuser for comment but he couldn’t be reached or located, and cannot independently confirm that the case has been dismissed.
Even before the court hearing, Martin had denied and challenged the accusations against him allegedly made by his 21-year-old nephew.
“Ricky Martin has, of course, never been — and would never be — involved in any kind of sexual or romantic relationship with his nephew,” Marty Singer, another of Martin’s attorneys, said in a previous statement to Billboard. “The idea is not only untrue, it is disgusting. We all hope that this man gets the help he so urgently needs. But, most of all, we look forward to this awful case being dismissed as soon as a judge gets to look at the facts.”
According to media reports, the accuser — who filed the order anonymously — was Martin’s 21-year-old nephew, who alleged he had dated the Puerto Rican artist for seven months. The report quotes the order as saying they broke up two months ago, that Martin allegedly did not accept the separation and has been seen loitering near the petitioner’s house at least three times.
On July 2, Judge Raiza Cajigas Campbell of the Court of First Instance of San Juan, Puerto Rico, issued a restraining order against the artist, with authorities visiting the island’s north coastal town of Dorado, where the singer lives, to try to serve the order, police spokesman Axel Valencia told The Associated Press.
It was not immediately known who requested the restraining order. Valencia said he could not provide further details because the order was filed under Puerto Rico’s domestic violence law.
The next day, the “Tiburones” singer took to social media to deny the order’s allegations, saying it was “completely false” and that he would face the process “with the responsibility that characterizes me.” He added, “I appreciate the innumerable gestures of solidarity and I receive them with all my heart.”
