Chile Investigates Leftist Millennial President on Charges of Illegally Sharing 'Intimate Images'

Chilean prosecutors announced on Tuesday that they are investigating far-left President Gabriel Boric as a defendant on allegations of “unlawful dissemination of intimate images,” part of a criminal sexual harassment complaint filed by an unidentified woman against Boric in September.

The Chilean government confirmed Monday that a sexual harassment complaint was filed in the southern region of Magallanes against Boric over incidents that allegedly occurred between 2013 and 2014.

Boric, through his lawyer Jonatan Valenzuela, denied the allegations. The president’s lawyer claimed that Boric was the victim of a harassment campaign by the accusing woman over ten years ago.

Boric’s legal team submitted to the prosecutors copies of 25 emails allegedly sent by the woman to Boric at the time of the incident that it claimed can demonstrate Boric was a victim of harassment, instead of a perpetrator. According to Valenzuela, some of the messages allegedly sent by the woman included “explicit content.”

The incidents allegedly occurred over ten years ago, at a time when Boric was 27 years old and practiced law in the city of Punta Arenas, where he shared an office space with the accusing woman.

While prosecutor Cristian Crisosto confirmed on Monday the existence of the sexual harassment complaint, Crisosto reportedly announced on Tuesday afternoon that Boric is now being probed as a defendant on potential charges of “unlawful dissemination of intimate images,” making no mention of the alleged sexual harassment accusations. The ongoing investigations are being handled under strict confidentiality measures.

“The prosecutor’s office is investigating a case that began in September 2024 for the crime of improper dissemination of intimate images,” Crisosto reportedly said on Tuesday. “The victim filed a complaint against the President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric Font, who is a defendant in the case.”

“This case is in unformalized status, with several pending proceedings,” he continued.  “And from day one, the victim has been offered attention and advice in all the activities of the case. And so far the case is reserved.”

Jaime García, a Chilean lawyer who identified himself as an “advisor” of the woman who filed a complaint against Boric, spoke to the Chilean outlet Ex-Ante, revealing more purported details on the case. García insisted that, as he currently acts as an advisor to the woman, he does not have attorney sponsorship and power to act as her legal representative.

According to García, the woman filed the complaint against Boric in September after intimate images of herself surfaced on the internet this year. The images had been allegedly stored on a USB thumb drive belonging to the woman that, García asserted, went missing from her desk over ten years ago at a time when she worked next to Boric.

“The complaint does not have to do with what the now President allegedly received in his email, but with the loss of a pendrive [thumb drive] that the alleged victim had in his desk when she was doing his law internship with Gabriel Boric, with whom he sat next to,”  García told Ex-Ante.

“That pendrive was lost, and it contained the images. When she saw them circulating on the Internet, in the middle of this year, she concluded that she would file a complaint because in her opinion only the president could have made them public,” he continued.

According to Ex-Ante, the crime of “unlawful dissemination of intimate images” carries a prison sentence of between 61 and 540 days or a fine between 330,000 – 660,000 Chilean pesos (roughly $330-660).

The woman anonymously spoke to the Chilean news channel Meganoticias on Tuesday evening. She described herself as the victim of a persecution campaign and claimed that her accusations are not just targeted against Boric, but “at all those who are responsible.”

“It is super complicated for me, because it is something very private, I am not a public person. I did not want to make it public, that person [Boric] made it public. And the complaint is not only against him, it is also against whoever is responsible,” the woman said.

“It’s an investigation that is just beginning, so I don’t know why he made it public like that,” she added.

The woman further claimed during the interview that she has been the alleged victim of hacking by someone in Boric’s circle. She also denied having sent intimate photos to Boric, refuting claims made by the president’s lawyer on Monday.

“What happens is that it originates from there. I found the photos on the Internet and, therefore, the person who had access was him and that’s where it all started,” the woman told Meganoticias.

Asked about the sexual harassment complaints that Boric’s lawyer mentioned during his announcement, the woman answered that “it is under investigation, I cannot assure you that it was so, I tell you that it is something that is under investigation.”

“Sexual harassment, the figure that I am raising, is not something physical. There is a figure that is special for you to look it up if you want, and that is what I did, but it is a special criminal figure. It is for persecution, it is like harassment. It is not physical,” the woman said.

CNN Chile reported on Tuesday that the woman, who lives in the city of Villa Alemana, is involved in at least four recent legal proceedings involving allegations of domestic violence, simple threats, and public disorder — the latter of which was reportedly filed a few days after she filed the complaint against Boric.

According to CNN Chile, the woman was convicted in November for robbery with intimidation at a service station, facing a sentence of three years and one day that was ultimately replaced by intensive probation.

Jaime García, the woman’s “advisor,” stated that her criminal record has “no relation to the validity of the complaint filed” against Boric.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.