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Former Menudo teen band member says father of Menéndez brothers raped him

The case of the Menéndez brothers is back in the news now that a former member of the Menudo youth band claims that Cuban entrepreneur José Enrique Menéndez, was a pedophile

Exintegrante de Menudo afirma que el padre de los famosos hermanos Menéndez lo violó cuando era adolescente
Exintegrante de Menudo afirma que el padre de los famosos hermanos Menéndez lo violó cuando era adolescente | Shutterstock / Captura de pantalla Youtube

April 19, 2023 8:41am

Updated: April 19, 2023 9:44am

The case of the Menéndez brothers is back in the news now that a former Menudo member claims that their father, Cuban businessman José Enrique Menéndez, was a pedophile.

Roy Rosselló, who was part of the popular 1980s youth band, is the subject of a new docuseries being aired by Peacock titled "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed." Roselló says he's ready to share with the world "a big bombshell".

The former Menudo band member claims that José Menéndez, who was brutally murdered along with his wife by his children, Lyle and Erik, drugged and sexually assaulted him.

It's unclear exactly how Roy claims to have known José during the time of the alleged incident, but it's not out of the realm of possibility considering that Menéndez worked as an executive in the music business during the 1980s and 1990s, and was attached to the Latino community.

 

Rosselló's story is scheduled to air on May 2, and the promos that have come out this week, seems to match what the Menéndez brothers also claimed about their father in the 1990s: that he had sexually abused them for years during their childhood.

The lynchpin of the brothers' defense essentially came down to telling the jury that they lived in fear of the abuse and only killed their parents after their father threatened them when they said they would expose what he had done.

It is unclear at this time whether Rosselló's new claim — which appears to be the first time anyone has publicly endorsed the idea that José Menéndez may have sexually abused minors — will have any impact on the case of the Menéndez brothers, as their lawyers have attempted for years in order to secure a new trial with several unsuccessful appeals.

Now Erik, 52, and Lyle, 55, are serving life in prison and are both married.