US Warrant Issued For Former Netflix Exec Accused of Raping His Wife
It reads like a crime novel, but it’s all too real. Former Netflix executive Diego Bunuel has been accused of
Ivy Griffith
It reads like a crime novel, but it’s all too real. Former Netflix executive Diego Bunuel has been accused of raping his wife, Maggie Kim. Now, Bunuel, who is residing in France, has a US warrant issued for his arrest. So what happened that led to this warrant, and who are Bunuel and Kim? CELEB takes a look at the haunting story of a woman trying desperately to get her children returned to the US, and the man accused of raping her while they were married.
A Complicated Past
Bunuel and Kim married in Costa Rica in 2007. In 2017, Kim filed for divorce, although they are still legally married. In the separation proceedings, Bunuel was granted custody of their two children by a French court soon after Kim filed. Since then, Kim has been trying to appeal the custody arrangement so she can bring her children – who are dual US and French citizens – back to her home country with her. Bunuel, who also has dual citizenship between the US and France, has resisted her efforts but allows her to visit the children in France.
According to Kim, after she filed for divorce she feared for her life, and just 10 days after filing for divorce some of her greatest fears were realized as Bunuel raped her.
Bunuel was a Netflix executive in charge of the streaming giant’s European documentary genre from 2018 to 2019. He left Netflix because he claimed to want to move to Paris full-time. Now, Bunuel is the head of programming at France Télévisions.
Arrest Warrant Issued
According to court documents, 46 year old Bunuel raped 48 year old Kim a total of three times. Per TheDailyMail, “The details of the alleged sexual assaults were not immediately clear, but Kim claimed in civil court documents that she suffered ‘abrasions and contusions to her neck and body’.
‘In addition, the plaintiff suffered mental and emotional anguish, nervousness, increased heart rhythm, shortness of breath and increased blood pressure, some or all of which are likely to be permanent in nature,’ the civil suit claimed, according to the Post.
‘As a further result of the willful and/or malicious conduct of the Defendant, the Plaintiff has been and will be unable to engage in personal and family, leisure and social activities as she did prior to the incidents, all of which has and will cause her loss,’ Kim claimed in her complaint.”
The New York Post learned that an arrest warrant was issued for Bunuel in France, and is currently active. France does not extradite its citizens for alleged crimes committed in other countries, so Bunuel will have to submit himself for the warrant.
What’s Next?
Currently, Kim is fighting to have the court’s custody arbitration altered. As part of her effort, filing an affidavit about the rapes helps boost her claim that Bunuel should not have full custody.
A judge in Massachusetts reviewed a civil suit from Kim against Bunuel but dismissed it, remanding the affidavit to the French courts for review. Kim’s attorney Ryan McGuigan had thoughts on what this case represents in the larger sphere; per the New York Post, “‘Martha’s Vineyard has long been a vacation destination of billionaire playboys, impaired senators and ex-presidents,’ McGuigan said. ‘The Public could interpret it to mean that the powerful and the privileged on Martha’s Vineyard continue to receive preferential treatment when they abuse the under-privileged. What the Public could interpret from this case is that it is acceptable for someone to come to Martha’s Vineyard [to] commit a crime and get away with it.’”
Although the US can’t extradite Bunuel, his ongoing battle over custody will be complicated if he doesn’t clear his name. So as Kim continues to press for more access to her children, Bunuel will have to decide between ducking responsibility and facing the music so he can continue his preferred custody arrangement. Kim isn’t giving up, though, whatever Bunuel decides. Marital rape is a real crime, despite its relative obscurity in the public dialogue round rape. Kim coming forward with these allegations does paint a far bigger picture than a custody battle between two divorcing people.