Footballer Álvaro Aguado is being prosecuted for the alleged sexual assault of an Espanyol employee.

BarcelonaThe judge who has been investigating since February the complaint against former Espanyol player Álvaro Aguado for allegedly sexually assaulting a club employee in a restroom at the Opium nightclub in Barcelona on June 23, 2024, as the team was celebrating its promotion to the First Division. The investigating judge's decision brings Aguado closer to a trial for sexual assault, pending the submission of their indictments by the private prosecution and the Prosecutor's Office.

The judge's order also orders Aguado, 29, to be summoned for a statement and demands a deposit of €5,000 to cover any potential compensation to the victim. The footballer, who will remain on provisional release, already testified in court in May. At that time, he stated that he had met the complainant that same night during a private party attended by players and some of the club's employees, and maintained that the sexual relations he had with the girl were consensual.

However, the indictment signed by the judge of Barcelona's 13th Court of Instruction includes the evidence of sexual assault that the judge gathered during the investigation, which began in February. The judge concludes that, even before the sexual assault in the bathroom, Aguado engaged in non-consensual groping of the girl over her clothing while they were dancing. Once in the bathroom, he assaulted her while she asked him to stop, and Aguado even allegedly prevented anyone from opening the bathroom door from the outside.

The judge took into account the victim's statement, who "was sincere in recounting the events" and acknowledged that she had flashes of the night and did not remember certain elements, so she was unable to specify some details. Furthermore, her version of what happened before entering and after leaving the bathroom has been corroborated by some of the witnesses in the case. Although the versions of the complainant and Aguado contradict each other, the investigating judge also took into account that the forensic reports support her version and concluded that there is sufficient evidence of sexual assault to prosecute the footballer.

When he testified in court in May, Aguado explained to the judge that RCD Espanyol had not taken any action against him since the club employee reported him to the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) earlier this year. He admitted that the club had not activated any protocol regarding the sexual assault complaint and explained that he had learned of the complaint through the club.