Torremolinos PSOE leader accused of sexual harassment: 'Have you always had that cleavage?'

A woman, who has asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, has accused the secretary general of the PSOE party in Torremolinos, Antonio Navarro, of sexual harassment. The complainant is also a member of the Socialist party. Her case has been referred to the gender-based violence division of the Malaga provincial prosecution department. SUR contacted Navarro, who denied the allegations.

The documentation submitted to the judicial authorities includes an exchange of WhatsApp messages. According to the messages, initially disguised as relating to municipal matters, Navarro made comments of sexual nature.

Some of the most explicit messages date back to September 2021. The texts, originally in Spanish, have been translated as close as possible for this article. In the context of a work-related conversation, Navarro writes: "Don't avoid me, I want to hit on you." She tries to steer the conversation back on track, asking that the conversation stick to priorities. According to the material, Navarro persists: "I know how to get rid of your headache."

Later he adds: "How comfy we'd be right now with a glass of wine and a sofa." The woman calls him out, to which Navarro replies: "It's just that you're really hot." She again diverts the comment by mentioning a municipal event, but minutes later he returns to the personal tone: "Have you always had that cleavage?" "I forgot to put a T-shirt on," she says. According to the messages submitted, Navarro responds: "Even if you wore a turtleneck, you'd still be just as hot."

On another occasion, according to the conversation included in the submitted documentation, Navarro asks to talk. She replies: "Not now. I've just got home. I'm preparing food and I'm doing laundry." The councillor doesn't insist at that moment, but the next day he reproaches her: "You're not paying attention to me." The complainant again tries to bring the dialogue back to work. "The town is a mess," she says. That pattern (her attempting to keep the conversation work-related while he maintains the personal tone) is repeated in the messages.

The woman's report culminates with an accusation of physical harassment. According to her account, on 9 September 2021, Navarro touched her buttocks without her consent. "Something I immediately reproached, warning him I would inform the party leadership if he persisted," she told the prosecution.

In fact later, on 8 June, the complainant reported the harassment internally within the PSOE. The party opened an inquiry and even interviewed the woman, but since then the case has remained waiting for a resolution.

In the subsequent WhatsApp conversation, Navarro refers to the incident, writing: "When you can, let's talk. I've been insisting so I can apologise. This is also something I need to learn to handle." When he gets no answer, he adds: "Call me. If you don't, I'll keep insisting."

This exchange leads to a series of messages that continues from 7pm until 11.30pm. According to the documentation, it amounts to about 50 messages with no reply from her. In that five-hour monologue, Navarro alternates apologies ("Call me. I screw up a lot, it's one of my greatest specialities"), warnings ("Forgive me. If not, I'll go totally crazy"), expressions of self-pity ("I'm an idiot"). He even suggests in one message that he might be waiting outside her home: "You'll have to take the trash out, right? I’m just saying."

His messages end with: "I don't think I'll sleep much today. Just saying, in case you can talk." He doesn't give up and the messages resume at 8am the next day with a "good morning". Later, in the afternoon, after a brief exchange on professional matters, Navarro returns to a more personal tone: "I wrote to you to know how you were." She answers briefly: "Fine. And you?" He replies: "Better now, knowing that you are." Another day something similar happens: "Can't you talk?" The complainant responds: "I'm having dinner now."

The messages keep coming in the following days. "When you get mad you look really pretty," he says. Then, they become more direct and pressing: "I'd really give it to you right now," "I'd rather have a photo of you," "Nice profile pic," "Why are you so hot?" "I'll shave just in case you have a moment of weakness." Sometimes she ignores him; other times she diverts the topic back to work. At times she is firm. "Can I ask you a personal question?" he once asks, to which she replies: "If it's one of yours, no."

At another moment, according to the messages provided, Navarro seems disappointed by her reaction: "Come on. Call me. Seriously… It was a joke. Give me a break. Pick up the phone, so I can tell you something and then I won't bother you anymore. I feel terrible now. I love you." She tries to get out of it: "I'll call you when we arrive." He insists: "Just one minute and then we'll talk if you want." The complainant explains: "I don't want to talk on the train, unless it's an emergency, which I don't think it is." He refuses to accept the "no". "But why don't you want to talk? I don't get it. Call me, please. Put your AirPods on. You know I want the best for you, right?"

In her complaint, the woman says that these messages "seriously affected" her "peace of mind and sense of safety" and that they caused "unbearable pressure and even fear" that he might appear at her door. The document submitted to the prosecution describes the exchange as "messages of sexual content, unwanted and unsolicited insinuations and propositions" in an "intimidating, degrading, and humiliating" environment.

Following the report, the gender-based violence prosecution has opened preliminary proceedings to gather information and decide whether to file a formal complaint or indictment, or, alternatively, close the case.

SUR contacted Navarro, who attributes the complaint to "political revenge". The PSOE leader in Torremolinos said that the accusation is "false". As for the WhatsApp messages, he neither confirmed nor denied their origin. "There's nothing to say. There's no crime," Navarro stated.