Roy Rosselló, a former member of 1980s boy band Menudo, says when he was 14 he was drugged and raped by entertainment executive Jose Menendez.
Menendez and his wife Kitty were later murdered by their sons Lyle and Erik, whose defense centered on similar allegations.
Rosselló‘s allegations first aired Tuesday on Today in a clip from the new documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.
Watch.
Rosselló‘s allegations first aired Tuesday on Today. In a clip from the new documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, he said:
I know what he did to me in his house.
–Roy Rosselló, former Menudo Member
The New York Times reported,
It is unclear what impact, if any, Mr. Rosselló’s account will have on efforts by defense lawyers to secure a new trial for the brothers, whose prior appeals have been denied.
The credibility of the brothers’ account, and the admissibility of defense arguments that pointed to sex abuse as a mitigating factor in the case, was central to the criminal trials that unfolded after the discovery of the murders in 1989. The first prosecution, which began in 1993, ended with two hung juries and mistrials. When the brothers were retried together two years later, they were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, where they remain.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the cases in the 1990s, did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Tuesday morning.
Rosselló noted in the new show that band members suffered sexual assault and abuse from other adults with access to Menudo. The band was a global sensation that originated in Puerto Rico in 1977 and continued in its original form until 2002.
World of Wonder co-founder Fenton Bailey discusses the Menendez case and WOW’s Lifetime film Menendez: Blood Brothers in his new book ScreenAge.
Our 2017 film is a great primer on the sensationalized case. Our special stars Courtney Love, Nico Tortorella, Benito Martinez, and Myko Olivier. Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato explore the inner lives and motivation behind the 1989 murders. The Menendez Brothers trial was one of the most infamous of the 1980s.” –ScreenAge
Watch.
Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed premieres on Peacock May 2.
(Photo, World of Wonder / Lifetime)
