WORLD NEWS: SPAIN JUDGE UNDER INVESTIION OVER HANDLING OF SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE

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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?”

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.