The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, assured this Wednesday that he was unaware of the complaint for an alleged sexual assault filed against the former deputy operational director (DAO) of the National Police José Ángel González, that Marlaska has spoken for the first time in the halls of Congress and has said he feels “disappointed” with what was his position of trust. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has defended since his official trip to India that he has acted with “consistency” and with “empathy” towards the victim. From the PP they have demanded Marlaska’s resignation and have accused the Executive of “protecting” the former Chief of Police and “covering up” the sexual assault. The minister has threatened to denounce anyone who suggests that they covered up the case – “I am not going to take on slander of this type” – and has responded to the popular supporters that he will only resign if the complainant has not felt protected: “If the victim believes that I have failed them, I will resign.”
Following Marlaska’s statements in Congress, the complainant’s lawyer, Jorge Piedrafita, stated that the victim, “at first,” felt “disappointed.” As she said, she “hoped that the minister would fire this person.” [González]not that I let him resign or that I invited him to resign.”
From New Delhi (India), Sánchez has assured that the Executive was not aware of the sexual assault complaint filed against González until yesterday Tuesday. As stated in a press conference, action was taken immediately and the resignation of the police command was demanded. Thus, he has defended that steps have been taken “with forcefulness, coherence and empathy with the victim.”
01:08
Sánchez says that the Government has acted with “empathy, coherence and forcefulness”
The President of the Government, who has described the accusations as “very serious”, has taken the opportunity to ask the popular supporters who have asked for Marlaska’s resignation that, if they “do give truth” to the complainant’s story, they “do the same” with other victims of other cases that “affect their organization.”
Upon arrival at the chamber, Marlaska, like Sánchez, stated that “evidently” he knew “nothing” about the sexual assault allegedly committed in April 2025 by González, which has hit the Corps squarely. “If we had known, we would have asked for the resignation as was done yesterday,” he explained. As detailed by the minister, the Interior has opened an internal investigation to find out if González’s right-hand man, Commissioner Óscar San Juan – who has already been relieved of his duties – was aware of the alleged rape case.
The resignation of José Ángel González, known within the force as “Jota”, was precipitated late this Tuesday after an investigation became known in the Court of Violence against Women number 8 in Madrid for which the commissioner has been called to testify on March 17. The alleged victim is an inspector of the National Police who has filed a complaint for crimes of sexual assault, coercion, psychological injuries and embezzlement of public funds. According to her lawyer’s account of the events, the agent—who had maintained an emotional relationship with the DAO—was taken to her “official home owned by the Ministry of the Interior,” where the defendant sexually assaulted her.
The complainant assures that starting on April 23 of last year, the day of the events, a “campaign of harassment” and “pressure” began to prevent her from reporting, in which Commissioner San Juan—then González’s advisor—supposedly participated to “offer” her the job position she wanted “in exchange for her silence.”
In statements to the press before the control session in Congress began, Marlaska explained that the Ministry is verifying this point and that they have opened an internal investigation to clarify whether there was knowledge and internal pressure within the Police. And he has stressed that he has already agreed that “San Juan be relieved of any responsibility within his current functions.”
The head of the Interior has reiterated that his team was unaware of these facts and has stressed that proof of this is that the inspector’s lawyer has assured that they have filed the complaint with total secrecy. “The most concrete proof is that there are statements from their lawyer that say that they kept the complaint secret,” he noted.
Once the session began in the chamber, the PP has urged the minister to resign. From his seat, Marlaska has warned that he will go to court if he is accused of covering up the matter. “Say outside of this chamber that the Minister of the Interior knew the facts and that he did not act, because then we will see each other in other instances,” he stated and then added: “I am not going to accept slander of this type.”
As part of his intervention, the minister indicated that he will only resign “if the victim herself has not felt protected.” “The facts are very serious, but do not create a curtain that could call into question the commitment to security,” he added.
In the halls of Congress, Marlaska has assured that he has read the complaint and, alluding to his past as a judge, has slipped that he gives credibility to the story. “I have read many complaints in my life. Once read there was no other decision [que la del cese del DAO] due to the seriousness of the events and to safeguard the prestige of the Police.” According to his version, he did not speak yesterday Tuesday with the police command, but instead communicated with the Secretary of State for Security, Aina Calvo, and with the director of the Police, Francisco Pardo Piqueras. “For me it is a clear disappointment,” he stated.
The PP accuses the Government of “protecting” the former Chief of Police and “covering up” the case
The case of the former police chief has generated reactions from the opposition since the early hours of the morning. The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has stated on his “Until it became known, they knew it, they covered it up and protected him,” he said, referring to González’s resignation. And he has insisted that “we must free the country from people like these, and that begins by removing the person who names them: Pedro Sánchez,” he added.
If the Government has had an alleged rapist at the head of the National Police for at least a month, and now he is leaving, there is only one possible conclusion: they are not dismissing him because of what he did, but because it has become public. Until it came out, they knew it, they covered it up…
— Alberto Núñez Feijóo (@NunezFeijoo)
In a second message published on the same social network, Feijóo has assured that no one “believes” the Government’s argument. “Do you really want us to accept that an Interior Minister has no idea that his police leadership commits and covers up crimes?” he asked and then pointed out that it was Marlaska “who extended” González’s retirement, alleging an “unquestionable” profile. “Out of respect for women and all the Police who do protect us, Marlaska must resign this morning or Sánchez fire him this afternoon,” he added.
The Secretary of Regeneration of the PP, Cuca Gamarra, spoke along the same lines this Wednesday in the halls of Congress. He has described González’s resignation as “insufficient” and has demanded the dismissal of Marlaska. When asked by the press before starting the Government control session about whether she was aware that the minister knew the facts, she insisted that due to the dates of the complaint and the judicial order “the minister knew about it.”
The complaint against the former Chief of Police has also been present this Wednesday during the session in the chamber. The general secretary of the PP, Miguel Tellado, has assured that Marlaska should not be “sitting in his seat” this morning. “You are covering up for alleged criminals. It is nauseating to see you sitting on your blue bench, covering up a rape,” he said.
From the Government bench, the first vice president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, has defended the management of the head of the Interior: “Mr. Marlaska did what he had to do.” Furthermore, he took the opportunity to remind the PP that “there are members of their party who remain in the institutions and who, after the complaints filed, do absolutely nothing, such as the case of the mayor of Móstoles or the mayor of Algeciras.”
Along the same lines, the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, stated in an interview in La Sexta that Marlaska “has already appeared” and “given explanations”, while insisting that González “is no longer in office.” In addition, he has asked the PP to “stop playing” with this case and dealing “blows” to the political opponent through sexist violence, reports Paula Chouza.
