Former Les Corts president Julio de España sentenced to 1.5 years for sexually assaulting a patient

The conviction

The Second Section of the Provincial Court of Alicante has sentenced Julio de España, former president of Les Corts Valencianes, to one and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting a patient during a medical examination. De España is a gastroenterology specialist who was practicing as a doctor when the incident took place. The Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) announced the ruling on Thursday, 29 October 2026. The sentence can be appealed before the civil and criminal chamber of the TSJCV, so the conviction is not yet final.

Acquittals and the trial

The court acquitted him of a second count of sexual assault involving another woman, as well as two counts of degrading treatment. Judges found that those offences had not been sufficiently proven at trial. The trial was held between May and June 2026. De España is also a former senator for the PP and a former president of the Diputación de Alicante provincial council.

What the court found

The court considers it proven that the incident took place on 7 August 2023 at a private clinic in Alicante. The patient, a nurse by profession, had gone to the consultation to request an assessment of food intolerances that caused heavy digestion and intestinal inflammation. According to the ruling, De España touched her face, cheekbones, neck, abdomen and lower belly. He then, without giving her any information, asked her to get down on all fours facing the wall, as if she were being punished. The court says he later carried out a rectal examination, which it considers medically justified and therefore not a criminal offence. Later still, again without explanation, he touched her genital area.

The judgment says the patient was left paralyzed and in shock by the way he behaved, which the court found did not match the medical standards required and was not needed in the case. According to the ruling, she developed acute post-traumatic stress disorder, and she was left with a moderate, intermittent anxiety disorder. The court's findings on the physical examination and the sequence of events are the basis for the conviction.

Sentence and conditions

Besides the prison term, the court imposes two years of supervised liberty and four years of disqualification from any activity, profession or job that involves regular, direct contact with minors. De España must pay the victim 12,000 euros in damages. He is also barred from approaching or contacting her by any means for three years. Until an appeal is decided or the deadline passes, the conviction remains open to review.