José María García Urbano, mayor of Estepona (PP), came to testify this Monday as being investigated after a local police officer in the town had filed a complaint against him for alleged sexual harassment committed against him and his partner. In his statement he has refused to answer the questions of the Prosecutor’s Office and the complainant’s lawyer, and has only answered his lawyer. He has not responded to the media either. When the judicial investigation became known, García Urbano sent a statement ensuring that the complaint had a “spurious” purpose and was part of a campaign to tarnish his personal dignity and his career as mayor.
The mayor had requested to declare “voluntarily and as soon as possible,” as he explained at the time. Judicial sources have confirmed this Monday that the mayor has declared “as an investigator”, so that he has had the legal guarantees that this condition implies. Among others, not testifying against himself or not answering the questions of the prosecutor or the complainant, as has happened. In the coming days the court, which has already heard the complainant ratify the complaint, will summon a witness.
The councilor has reiterated that this is a false complaint, “without foundation”, and his defense is going to request that the proceedings be archived, as reported in a note.
“He sought to satisfy his sexual desires using his status as mayor”
The Court of Instruction 5 of Estepona is investigating the complaint filed against the mayor by a local Estepona police officer, currently on leave for psychological reasons, for alleged events that occurred between March 2022 and June 2023 that would have violated his sexual freedom.
The complaint includes a series of behaviors by the mayor of Estepona (he has been the mayor since 2011) with which he would have forced the complainant to have sexual relations under the threat that, if he did not agree, he would lose his job, also involving the partner of this.
According to the official’s story, the mayor made him feel “special treatment” since he arrived, “not in accordance with the normal working relationship that a mayor can have with his officials.” This treatment implied a “libidinous intention.” “It was proven that this attitude was due to the fact that the accused sought to satisfy his sexual desires by taking advantage of his status as mayor.”
That intention would have materialized in various hotels. According to the official, he agreed “out of fear of losing his job and, as a consequence, not being able to support his family.” “If he wanted to keep his job, both the complainant and his romantic partner had to agree to his sexual perversions,” the complaint states, in which it is stated that the councilor “looked for a lease” for them in an apartment in Estepona. and he even offered 2,000 euros a month to the couple so that they could spend “as much time as possible in Estepona.”
According to this story, when the complainant decided to put an end to the situation, García Urbano responded “in a threatening tone” that “his position as an official depended on him and that” if he did not play his part, his professional career was over forever and that “It was going to make his life impossible since he has contacts so he can’t work anywhere.”
The complaint was admitted for processing on October 28, and the complainant confirmed himself, adding some details, in a statement via videoconference a little over a week ago. After that, the court could file the complaint outright, if it saw no evidence of a crime, or agree to new proceedings. García Urbano requested to testify, he did so this Monday as an investigator, and the judge has decided to continue investigating by summoning a witness.
#mayor #Estepona #declares #investigated #alleged #sexual #harassment #official #avoids #responding #prosecutor
