Cesar Chavez, icon of US labor movement, accused of serial sex abuse: report

Over the years in which the charismatic Chavez galvanised farmworkers, winning reforms for a marginalised group and global recognition for himself, he was also molesting youngsters and coercing women into sexual relationships, the report said.

Among his accusers is Dolores Huerta, a prominent leader of the movement, who said her longtime comrade-in-arms forced her into sex that resulted in two pregnancies.

Two women The New York Times spoke to, who were the daughters of fellow members of the United Farm Workers (UFW), the union Chavez co-founded in 1962, said Chavez abused them as minors in the 1970s.

Ana Murguia said Chavez began touching her inappropriately when she was 12 years old and he was over 40.

Debra Rojas claimed that her abuse began when she was 13, and that she had sexual intercourse with Chavez at age 15 -- an act that constitutes rape under California law.

Dozens of other associates and victims concealed alleged abuses that he perpetrated for decades, The New York Times said.

Chávez, who died in 1993, rallied California's largely Latino farmworkers starting in the 1950s to win improvements in working conditions.

He led huge marches and national boycotts that transformed him into a figure revered throughout the labor movement.

Former president Bill Clinton posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Joe Biden had a bust of Chavez installed in the Oval Office.

California designated his birthday, March 31, a state holiday, and his face and name adorn schools, auditoriums, streets and public squares throughout the state.

In a statement Wednesday, Huerta said Chavez had manipulated and pressured her into having sex on two occasions in the 1960s, both of which resulted in pregnancies.

"The first time... I didn't feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to," she said.

"The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped."

Huerta said she had concealed the resulting pregnancies and placed the children with other families when they were born.

"Over the years, I have been fortunate to develop a deep relationship with these children, who are now close to my other children, their siblings," she said.

"But even then, no one knew the full truth about how they were conceived until just a few weeks ago."

The New York Times reported that Chavez, who had eight children with his wife, Helen, fathered at least four others, including those with Huerta.

The UFW said it was cancelling participation in Cesar Chavez Day celebrations, though union bosses said they had not received "any direct reports, and we do not have any firsthand knowledge of these allegations."