Popstar Ricky Martin is out of the legal weeds since his nephew dropped all charges on Thursday, July 2022, following troubling accusations of incest and domestic violence.

Reports of the accusation first surfaced in early July when a restraining order was issued against Enrique Martín Morales, famously known as Ricky Martin, by San Juan Judge Raiza Cajigas Campbell, unbeknownst to the singer.

The petitioner, Dennis Sánchez Martín, is the singer’s nephew and received legal representation from Jessica Bernal.

In the late evening of Saturday, July 2, local police released a statement to the public confirming that “the police are in the process of issuing a restraining order by order of Law 54 against Mr. Enrique Martin.”

Law 54 seeks to protect victims of domestic violence and, via an ex parte petition, can enforce immediate restrictions if the petitioner is at physical or irreparable harm. 

In lieu of the charges. Martín’s legal team issued a release to El Nuevo Día affirming that the allegations were unequivocally false, and that, in “no uncertain terms,” the “truth would come to light.”

The following Sunday, Martín released a statement via Twitter.

“The protection (sic.) order entered against me is based on completely false allegations, so I will respond through the judicial process with the facts and the dignity that characterizes me,” he wrote.

Martín then added: “Because it is an ongoing legal matter, I cannot make detailed statements at this time. I am grateful for the countless messages of (sic.) solidarity, and I receive them with all my heart.” 

Amid allegations followed by a PR nightmare, Martin continued to promote an upcoming EP, Ácido Sabor, via Twitter.

In an effort to sustain the messaging, Martin’s PR team reiterated that “the allegations were based on false accusations,” but offered no further comment. 

What followed was a PR storm for Martín, as entertainment media sites like TMZ divulged the story, quickly amassing the attention of a global audience, well beyond local press coverage in Puerto Rico. 

Pursuant to Puerto Rican law, once an ex parte order is issued, the accused has 20 days to respond, whereas the legal team may respond to the accusations in court. Petitioners must undergo an evaluation process in the court, where it must be established that the petitioner is under serious threat of physical threat. 

While strict criteria must be met to issue an ex parte restraining order, legal experts state that it is not a necessary outline of the facts. An ex parte order simply means a court’s initial determination resulted in concern for the petitioner and acts as a protective measure. 

In the U.S. alone, 2-3 million restraining orders are issued per year, however, given the complexity of the criminal proceedings that follow, it is difficult to measure their impact. Though there are studies, such as a report from the Carlson Institute, in which the restraining order significantly reduced the rate of harm toward women. 

However, during morning proceedings via video conference on July 21, Sánchez Martín decided to drop all charges against his uncle, after which, the court archived the case. 

Although civil proceedings are closed and unavailable for public viewing, Martín’s legal representation maintained that, after a series of questions from the judge directed at the singer’s nephew, it was concluded the petitioner had dropped all charges voluntarily. 

No further criminal charges were levied against Ricky Martin. 

Following the turn of events, the singer released a statement on social media, writing “Truth prevails” on his banner.

Currently, the singer’s nephew is pursuing legal action against threats received via telephone, and advising against testifying.