Politicians and constituents rush to councilor’s defense after porn tape leak

A Socialist councilor from the Toledo town of Los Yébenes — who offered to step down at the beginning of the week after a pornographic video she recorded of herself was leaked and posted on the internet — took back her resignation on Thursday after receiving an outpouring of support from her constituents and even from members of the conservative Popular Party (PP).

In a radio interview, Olvido Hormigos said that she has been going through “difficult moments” since the video was apparently stolen from her cellphone last month and later posted on YouTube. Hormigos told Cadena Ser that she filed a criminal complaint on Wednesday after she received an email with the video attached apparently from the office of the PP mayor.

It was the third complaint she filed with the Civil Guard for violations of her privacy. On August 13, she pressed charges when the video was being sent via the WhatsApp mobile-based messaging service. One person has been charged by a court in Orgaz with leaking the video, EFE reported, citing judicial sources.

“I received an email from the mayor’s office, a mail that included the video,” she said.

The video, which Hormigos made for her husband, was taken down from YouTube on Wednesday after the Socialist councilor complained.

Anastasio Priego, the Socialist spokesman at the town council, said that the entire matter has “radically changed” after learning that the emails were being sent from the mayor’s office. He suggested a “political ploy.”

PP Mayor Pedro Acevedo had no comment on the matter at press time.

After the scandal broke, support for Hormigos to remain in her seat poured in, especially on the social networks. “I masturbate too, so what?” wrote UPyD deputy Irene Lozano on Twitter.

Socialist deputy secretary general Elena Valenciano, who was one of the first to come out in support of Hormigos, wrote on her account from Brussels, where she is on an official trip: “Olvido, don’t resign. Take action by pressing charges.”

Support also came from two top PP members: Madrid regional premier Esperanza Aguirre and Esteban González Pons, one of the party’s deputy secretary generals. “I support the Los Yébenes councilor,” said Aguirre during a news conference Thursday. “Any video that appears on the web, which was recorded by someone for intimate purposes, is an attack on a person’s privacy,” she said.

González Pons also posted on Twitter: “You have a right to be free and to be who you are, no one can judge you.”

Meanwhile, the residents of Los Yébenes, with a population of 6,500, also rushed to her defense. “She is an intelligent, pretty girl. She hasn’t killed anyone. She did it for her husband, and that’s her. No one can say anything,” a woman standing in front of the town hall told Europa Press.

For her part, Hormigos said that Mayor Acevedo should offer an explanation as to why emails with the video were being sent from the town hall.

“At no time have I spoken with the mayor and when I received the email yesterday \[Wednesday\] I went straight to the Civil Guard,” she said.

Hormigos explained that she decided to take back her resignation, which she presented on Monday, after the outpouring of support she has received over the past few days.

Late Thursday, Hormigos went to the town council and filed a written petition asking to annul her resignation, said Priego, the Socialist spokesman on the council.