Spain's ex-DAO resigns over assault claim, keeps salary

Ex-DAO resigns over assault claim, keeps public salary

The Deputy Director of Operations (DAO) of the National Police resigned trinc a subordinate’s complaint alleging sensual assault. The complainant, a police commissioner, remains on anxiety-related sick leave while receiving 100% of her salary, according to circulating data. He continues as a state civil servant. Neither has been imprisoned. This is where anger begins: not over the case itself, but over how costs are distributed.

The debate opens with a puzzling fact: if this is sensual assault, why hasn’t a judge ordered imprisonment? This question runs through the entire matter. Based on available material, there is no answer. What is clear is that proceedings continue and both salaries are paid religiously in the meantime.

Who pays for the media circus?

The complainant’s lawyer dominates TV studios. He repeats the same narrative with identical emphasis, program after program. Some argue this isn’t legal defense but an opinion campaign. Meanwhile, the former police commander denies the facts and claims his life has been ruined, according to collected statements.

The contrast with other cases is what jars most. When the accused is a private citizen without credentials or a gun, media treatment differs, some participants note. Here, two civil servants—a superior and a subordinate—face a slow-moving file. In such matters, delay has a known side effect: exhausting the complainant and creating a sense that nothing moves.

Prior relationship account and case gaps

The complainant acknowledged in her own report having maintained a relationship with the ex-DAO. They met in Valladolid when he commanded a police intervention unit. Later, she began a relationship with a police unionist. According to published versions, the relationship with the commander was turbulent.

This exposes the most exploited angle: a consensual relationship ending in a sensual assault complaint. Some see a trap for promotion. Others see a superior abusing power. Still others simply lack sufficient evidence to take sides. The recording the complainant activated during the encounter is interpreted by both parties in their favor.

Missing data: age and history

No one has disclosed the complainant’s age. Results from the selective exams she passed to become a commissioner haven’t surfaced either. These are two details that, in any other case, would appear in the first paragraph of every report. Here they don’t. This absence fuels suspicion that the narrative was constructed conveniently, according to some comments.

The ex-DAO is 66 years old. The age gap with the complainant, based on circulating calculations, is significant. It’s another data point, not proof. But it helps explain why part of the public views this as a power game rather than a victim-perpetrator story.

Resigning isn’t leaving: real cost to taxpayers

The DAO’s resignation didn’t cost him his civil servant position. He still gets paid. The complainant still gets paid. Neither is unemployed. Neither is jailed. This is the summary circulating most and explains the anger: the system protects them both, and the bill goes to the same pocket.

In any private company, analysis suggests, a superior and subordinate with an intimate relationship would both end up fired. Not so in the Administration. Resignation is a political gesture. Salary is an acquired right. Anxiety leave is a worker’s right. All legal. All paid.

Comparisons with other cases

The most repeated comparison is with the Rubiales case: six months of continuous coverage for a non-consensual kiss. Here, however, the matter has stalled completely. The question is why. Some suggest focus shifts depending on convenience; others recall that media treatment depends on the accused’s profile.

The case of the Canary Islands Housing Institute director, charged with a sens crime who resigned after learning of the indictment, also enters the conversation. That one did make headlines. If a pattern exists, it’s not as simple as some want to sell.

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What remains is the core: a sensual assault complaint, two public salaries, open proceedings, and no firm incivil consequences. How long will justice take to decide if this was rape or a setup? As of today, no one has the answer.