Operational head of Spain's National Police accused of sexual assault

The Spanish interior minister was thrown into a political crisis this week when the most senior operations officer in the National Police was forced to resign over the alleged rape of a subordinate.

José Ángel González, deputy director for operations and second-in-command of the whole force nationally, left his post on Tuesday evening.

The move came shortly after it became public that a Madrid court had accepted for consideration a criminal complaint against him for alleged sexual assault, coercion, psychological injury and misuse of public funds.

González, a close ally of interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, had held the force's top uniformed post since 2018. He denies the accusation.

The complaint, filed by a female subordinate officer, accuses González of raping her last spring in the senior officer's official residence. The complainant says she possesses audio recordings and other evidence of both the alleged assault and subsequent pressure from senior officers to keep silent. Sources say González stepped down to avoid damaging the force, although the interior ministry had reportedly known of the case for months and was aware since last week that the complaint had been formally admitted on 12 February. Both parties are due to testify in court on 17 March.

According to the filing, the officer previously had an emotional relationship with González, marked by a "clear imbalance of institutional power". The complaint further alleges a subsequent campaign of phone harassment, manipulation and offers of professional favours in exchange for silence.

The scandal immediately put pressure on interior minister Grande-Marlaska. He was forced to defend himself in a statement in parliament on Wednesday over what his ministry knew and when concerning the accusation. Opposition groups accused him of covering up the issue until the alleged victim took the complaint to a court bypassing the internal police complaints procedure.

The minister refused to step down but added, "If the victim has not felt protected, I will resign."