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Menudo Founder Under Investigation Over Allegations of Sexually Assaulting Ex-Member

Eddie Fu
·3 min read
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The post Menudo Founder Under Investigation Over Allegations of Sexually Assaulting Ex-Member appeared first on Consequence.

Edgardo Díaz, the founder and manager of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department over allegations of sexual assault by an ex-member of the group, reports the Los Angeles Times.

There have been a number of sexual abuse accusations against Díaz over the past several decades, but this investigation centers around allegations from Roy Rosselló, who was a teenage member of Menudo during the peak of its popularity. According to the LA Times, it’s the first known criminal investigation against Díaz by law enforcement. “We can confirm a report was taken and it is an ongoing investigation,” the LAPD said in a statement. “Due to victim confidentiality the department is unable to provide further.”

Rosselló previously accused Díaz of sexually abusing him and other members of the group on the Brazilian reality show A Fazenda 7 back in 2014. These allegations resurfaced as part of a Peacock docuseries called Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, which focuses on allegations of abuse within the band and ties them to Jose Menendez, the RCA Records executive who was slain by his sons in 1989.

In the final episode of the series, Rosselló alleges Díaz physically abused members of the band after finding out they had rented a second room for girls at the Biltmore Hotel during an LA trip that took place in the 1980s. According to Rosselló, Díaz proceeded to take him to another room and then tied him to the bed, beat him with a wet towel, and raped him. Toward the end of the docuseries, Rosselló is filmed while walking into an LAPD station last November to file a police report about the alleged attack.

Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, reported by journalists Robert Rand and Nery Ynclan, features numerous accusations from Rosselló against Díaz. Not only does Rosselló allege that he was repeatedly sexually abused and assaulted by Díaz after joining Menudo at the age of 13, but he also reveals for the first time that Díaz once took him to the home of Menendez, where the music executive then drugged and raped him.

It’s not clear whether Rosselló’s rape allegations against Menendez could factor into the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez being reexamined. One of the defenses during the Menendez brothers’ trial was that they were acting out of fear for their lives after years of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse when they shot and killed their parents. Prosecutors pushed back against their claims, and the brothers are now serving life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. They will be the subject of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Ryan Murphy’s follow-up to his Dahmer Netflix series.

Allegations against Díaz related to Menudo have mounted over the years. Back in 1991, former member Ralphy Rodríguez said he’d seen alleged abuse of underage members of the band while appearing on the Univisión TV program Cristina Show. Rosselló’s 2014 accusations were acknowledged by another former member, Rene Farrait, later that year on the Telemundo show Suelta La Sopa. In 2021, Gabriel Fernández made similar allegations of sexual abuse that took place during his brief time in the band.

If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual misconduct, you can reach out for support:

RAINN Hotline
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
http://www.rainn.org

Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)

Menudo Founder Under Investigation Over Allegations of Sexually Assaulting Ex-Member
Eddie Fu

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