Published
Fri, Aug 26, 2022, 07:30
- The alleged incident took place in Madrid on April 10th.
A woman has publicly accused Brian Bout, director of Dutch festival Dance Valley, of rape and making death threats.
On Tuesday, August 16th, Carolina Sepulveda took to Instagram to describe the alleged incident, which she said took place at her house in Madrid on April 10th after Bout walked her home from a party.
According to Sepulveda, she met Bout at a bar while out with some friends. After going to a club, she decided to head home. She said Bout left with her as his hotel was near her house and he wanted to see a painting she had shown him on her phone.
But Sepulveda said the "nightmare began" as soon as she opened the door to her home. "He pushed me inside and brutally raped me," she wrote. "On a side note, I'm an oncology patient and I have had treatment to remove a cervical tumour not long before this happened. I will spare you the finer details of all this, but after a a lot of 'NO,' a lot of barking from my dog, he left. He told me he was going to kill me if I talked."
Sepulveda called the police, who helped her file an incident report. She was also assisted by emergency services and a psychological unit. Bout was arrested in his hotel that night and subsequently imprisoned in Madrid for several weeks before being released on bail pending trial. (Resident Advisor has seen the police report and a medical report with details of the alleged sexual assault.)
Speaking to RA, Sepulveda said she had received more than 2,000 personal messages of support since the Instagram post, including many victims sharing similar accounts. Her advice to anyone in a similar situation is to report the incident to police so there is an official record of the crime.
"Find a community for strength and support then speak out," she said. "We must do this for the sake of all women abused every day and every night. Please also be crystal clear that you haven't done anything wrong—the fault lies with the abusers, not with you."
Bout has denied the allegations. He shared this statement with RA.
"Today I took note of the various reports that have appeared in the media about me. However, I denied, and still deny this woman's allegations. It is correct that I was arrested in Spain earlier this year, but in the criminal procedure that was initiated as a result of the allegations, in which both versions of the story were heard, I was released by the Spanish judge. I'm looking towards the outcome of this procedure with confidence. At this point, I will refrain from further comment (for now)."
Bout runs UDC (United Dance Company), one of the biggest festival promoters in the Netherlands. Its three main events are Dutch Valley, Ground Zero and Dance Valley, which launched in 1995.