Efe San Sebastian
Saint Sebastian
Updated Thursday, February 1, 2024-15:15
Six women have filed complaints with the Ertzaintza against a man who is being investigated for
sexually assaulting clients in his
osteopathy clinic in Tolosa (Guipúzcoa), the Basque Department of Security has reported.
The man
was arrested on January 21
, after two victims reported to the regional police that they had been sexually assaulted.
The person under investigation was released
with charges on January 23
, although the facts were not revealed until the 28th, when the Security Department revealed the existence of complaints of "touching and behavior against sexual freedom" in the mentioned cabinet since it suspected that there could be more affected.
In this way,
last Tuesday a third woman filed a new complaint
against the man, after which the Ertzaintza announced this Thursday that the number of those affected now amounts to six.
The alleged perpetrator of the events "began his massage session" in areas of the body such as "the back, neck or lumbar area", but after "a certain time and without any consent
or
prior
authorization from the victims"
, The therapist extended his "manipulation" to "intimate areas."
The alleged aggressor and the victims "were alone in the consultation" at the time of the events, which meant that the women
came to "feel afraid
of the behavior" of the man in their respective sessions.
Similar complaints
The Basque Department of Security has explained that the three new complaints known today have been for
events similar
to those previously reported by the rest of the affected parties.
After the arrest of this man, "an entry and search of the office took place
in search of evidence
related to the events."
Hundreds of residents of Tolosa expressed their support for the women complainants on Monday in a
rally
called jointly by the City Council and the local feminist movement, with two banners bearing the slogans in Basque: "In favor of a town without sexist violence." and "Stand up to sexist violence. It affects one, it affects all."
Representatives of the municipal corporation, led by the mayor,
Andu Martínez de Rituerto
, attended the event, as well as the director of the Equality Body of the Guipúzcoa Provincial Council,
Nerea Isasi
.