Police in Madrid have arrested a man on suspicion of sexually assaulting a Spanish journalist while she was reporting live on TV.
Isa Balado, a reporter for Spanish broadcaster Cuatro, was reporting live on an armed robbery in Madrid Tuesday when a man walked up behind her and appeared to touch her bottom.
Isa Balado, a reporter for Spanish broadcaster Cuatro, was reporting live on an armed robbery in Madrid on Tuesday when a man wearing sunglasses and dressed in a dark jacket and gray shorts walked up behind Balado and appeared to touch her bottom.
Balado tried to continue her live report but the news program’s host, Nacho Abad, interrupted and asked Balado if she had been assaulted by the man.
When Balado confirmed the incident, Abad asked her to put the “idiot” on camera, and the camera turned to put the man back in the shot.
The man was seen smiling before Balado confronted him, saying: “As much as you want to ask what channel we are from, do you really have to touch my bottom? I’m doing a live show and I’m working.”
The man denied touching her and after a brief exchange he walked away.
Spain’s National Police force said in a tweet Thursday that a man was arrested Tuesday for “sexually assaulting a reporter while she was doing a television live shot.” The post showed the man being escorted in handcuffs.
This incident came with Spain still reverberating from a weeks-long scandal over the now-resigned president of the Spanish soccer federation, Luis Rubiales. Rubiales was accused of sexual assault after forcibly kissing national soccer team player Jenni Hermoso on the lips right after her team won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in August.
Rubiales is scheduled to testify Friday at the Spanish National High Court.
