Spain Judge Probed Over Handling Of Sexual Assault Case

A judge in Spain was put under investigation on Wednesday after a video emerged of him aggressively questioning a woman who had accused a high-profile former lawmaker of sexual assault.

Spain’s legal watchdog, the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), said in a statement that it had opened the internal investigation into the judge after receiving over 900 complaints against him.

The judge, Adolfo Carretero, has come under fire since a video of his questioning of actress and television presenter Elisa Mouliaa, as part of his probe into the sexual assault allegations, leaked to several Spanish media outlets on Monday.

During the January 16 hearing, the judge repeatedly questioned the 36-year-old’s motives and her attitude towards Inigo Errejon, a former lawmaker with far-left party Sumar, whom she has accused of sexually assaulting her in September 2021.

“Could it be that you wanted something from this man and, when he didn’t give it to you, you decided to lodge a complaint against him now?” the judge asked her.

At another moment he asked her: “You’re a woman used to interacting with the public. How could you not have been able to tell him that this situation was not acceptable?”

This line of questioning was strongly criticised by several members of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s two-party coalition government that includes Sumar.

Education Minister Pilar Alegria on Tuesday said that she “felt hurt as a woman” watching the video excerpts of the court hearing, adding that she “had the impression this is a feeling” many other women in Spain have felt.

Justice Minister Felix Bolanos said judges need to “know how to approach and deal with this type of hearing”.

Errejon stepped down in October as lawmaker and Sumar’s spokesman in parliament, and said he was quiting politics, in a cryptic statement in which he referred to “mistakes”, without clarifying what those were.

Shortly afterwards, Mouliaa announced on X that she had lodged a complaint with police against Errejon, 41, for sexual assault.

The scandal embarrassed Sanchez’s government, which has prioritised gender equality and the fight against sexual violence.