Gloria Trevi has filed a graphic new lawsuit alleging she suffered “horrific abuse” at the hands of her ex-manager Sergio Andrade that was compounded by her status as the “most valuable asset” in his “sadistic” sex ring. She says the torture was so “grotesque,” it pushed her to the brink of suicide.
Trevi, who was known as Mexico’s Madonna, filed her new claims in Los Angeles as a cross-complaint to the blockbuster complaint filed by two Jane Does who sued her and Andrade last year with related claims of sexual abuse. For her part, Trevi alleges some of her abuse occurred in Los Angeles County and that Andrade went to great lengths to cover it up. A California law that expires Dec. 31 created a one-year “lookback” window for otherwise expired civil court claims of adult sexual assault, if the new lawsuits include claims of attempted concealment.
Trevi, who has vehemently denied claims she lured the Jane Does into Andrade’s orbit and helped perpetuate their abuse, alleges in her new filing that she too was a “prisoner” of Andrade. She says Andrade would “beat her with closed fists and whip her with belts or cables.” She claims he isolated her, spied on her, raped her repeatedly, and exploited her “undeniable talent” for enormous profit.
“There were many other women and girls that Andrade controlled and abused over the years, but Ms. Trevi was his true star — and, thus, the girl he most needed and wanted to dominate and control,” her new lawsuit states. She claims Andrade barred her from speaking “freely” to other men and kept all the money from her performances and record sales. “Instead of living the lifestyle of the rich and famous that one might expect of the ‘Mexican Madonna,’ Ms. Trevi, in private, was often dressed in old rags, sometimes forced to sleep naked for days on a cold bathroom floor,” her lawsuit alleges. “She was surrounded by other young women and girls who, like herself, were controlled by Andrade and did his bidding by watching her and reporting any supposed disobedience or imagined transgression against his authority,” the suit claims.
Trevi alleges she was forced into grueling exercise, “starved” at Andrade’s “whim,” and whipped as punishment for made-up transgressions. “There was a sadistic game that Andrade would play with such beatings: a preset number of blows had to be endured and accepted by Ms. Trevi in silence. If Ms. Trevi were to cry out, gasp, or make any other sign of distress, Andrade would treat that as a new punishable offense, and the beating would start all over again from the beginning. During the course of the beating in question, Ms. Trevi passed out. She regained consciousness on the ground, to find Andrade on top of her, sexually assaulting her,” the lawsuit alleges. “The mental, sexual, and other abuse inflicted by Andrade eventually drove Ms. Trevi to attempt suicide,” the suit states.
Regarding the alleged coverup, Trevi claims Andrade “impregnated dozens of young women and girls” and then, with the assistance of others, forced or coerced them into abortions. She claims she was forced to travel to the U.S. for one such abortion in the Nineties. “Those abortions were motivated, in whole or in part, to maintain the secrecy of his sexual abuse,” her lawsuit alleges.
Trevi’s complaint makes separate claims of sexual assault and battery against Andrade. It further alleges Jane Doe 1 assisted Andrade, though it doesn’t give clear dates. According to her underlying lawsuit filed last December, Jane Doe 1 alleges she was 15 years old when a 23-year-old Trevi “enticed” her into Andrade’s group in 1991 and “groomed” her to become a sex slave. She and Jane Doe 2 allege it was Trevi who personally recruited them. In her lawsuit, Trevi denies this.
Trevi’s cross-complaint makes claims of indemnity against both Jane Does, meaning others hold liability for any injury. “Ms. Trevi is a survivor of abuse, not a perpetrator, and denies that she owes any liability to either of them,” the filing states.
“I have chosen to take this legal action to fight for justice and to send a message that such appalling acts should not be tolerated. No one should have to go through what I experienced, and I am determined to hold those responsible accountable for their actions,” Trevi said in statement to Rolling Stone.
“Our client, Gloria Trevi, has shown immense strength and courage in coming forward and filing this cross-complaint. We are fully prepared to present our case and seek justice on her behalf,” Vasquez added in a separate statement to Rolling Stone.
Karen Barth Menzies, one of the lawyers representing the two Jane Does, responded by highlighting the differences in age and fame between her clients and the defendants in their lawsuit, including Trevi. “Exploitation of a power disparity is at the heart of these abuse cases, and it’s obvious who has the power,” Menzies told Rolling Stone.
Last week, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed a cross-complaint in the case filed by Mary Boquitas, who was a third defendant sued alongside Trevi and Andrade last year. Boquitas, whose legal name is María Raquenel Portillo Jimenez, counter-sued for defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress after she was accused of witnessing and sometimes participating in “horrendous” abuse that included forced sexual contact, beatings, whippings, forced exercise, and food deprivation. At a Friday hearing, the judge said Boquitas had no grounds for her counter-lawsuit because it was based on the original lawsuit from the Jane Does, which counts as protected speech. Boquitas represented herself and called into the hearing by phone.
Trevi, 55, has been battling accusations she aided Andrade’s abuse since she seemingly disappeared with him as a flood of sex cult allegations from multiple former protégées took center stage. The claims would explode into an international scandal, with Andrade re-cast as a violent serial pedophile and Trevi his adult accomplice. The two would be arrested in Brazil in January 2000 amid an international manhunt with wanted posters pasted all around Mexico.
Trevi would go on to spend four years in pre-trial detention before being acquitted by a judge who said there was insufficient evidence to support the rape, kidnapping, and corruption of minors charges filed against her by Mexican prosecutors. After spending four years awaiting trial, Andrade was convicted of rape, kidnapping, and corruption of minors. He ended up spending only one more year behind bars and has not responded to the civil case now unfolding in Los Angeles County Superior Court. According to court filings, his address in Mexico is “unknown.”