Ricky Martin sues nephew who accused him of sexual abuse for $20 million

Ricky Martin is suing his nephew after he accused him of sexual abuse.

In court documents obtained by NBC News on Sept. 7, the singer claims Dennis Yadiel Sánchez Martin, who he confirms is his nephew and “of legal age,” “persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted” him in an effort to “assassinate” his reputation.

In July, a restraining order was filed against Martin. At the time, NBC News confirmed that the person who filed the restraining order was the son of Martin’s half sister. The nephew alleged that he and Martin had had a sexual and romantic relationship that lasted for seven months, according to a court document obtained by Telemundo and shared with NBC News. The Grammy winner denied all allegations against him.

During a hearing in Puerto Rico on July 21, a judge declined to extend a temporary order of protection against the singer after the nephew withdrew his case against Martin.

In a statement obtained by TODAY following the hearing, Martin’s lawyers said they “had anticipated” that the temporary protection order would not be extended.

In Martin’s lawsuit, the singer claims that his nephew continues to message him, despite withdrawing his restraining order and “admitting under oath that he had never been sexually assaulted” by him.

The lawsuit claims that the nephew would constantly message him, sometimes more than 10 times in a single day, between October 2021 and January 2022. Martin claims that his nephew posted his phone number on social media and allegedly made an Instagram account for one of his children.

It was not immediately clear on Wednesday if Martin’s nephew has legal representation.

Martin accuses his nephew of making malicious allegations, “without probable cause, with serious contempt for the truth and knowing that they were false,” according to court documents.

He also claims that his nephew’s accusations against him caused him to lose out on multi-million-dollar deals and “future artistic projects,” as well as hurt his reputation. Martin is asking for no less than $20 million in compensation.

A day after his nephew dropped his case for a restraining order, Martin returned to the stage and performed his greatest hits at the Hollywood Bowl.

“All I want is for you to forget all your issues tonight,” he said during the Los Angeles concert. “Just focus on love and light and let’s just have a good time.”