The Basque police Ertzaintza arrested a 33-year-old man in Ermua on Friday, 9 October 2026. He had been wanted for failing to comply with a court order. The Basque Security Ministry confirmed that a court in Bergara had issued an order to locate, arrest and bring him before the court after the suspect failed to attend a hearing as ordered.
The man is linked to an alleged sexual assault on a minor in Arrasate (Arrasate-Mondragón), reported on the night of Saturday, 3 October. According to police, two suspects were arrested in Soraluze on Sunday, 4 October, and Monday, 5 October, and handed over to the judicial authorities. Both appeared before the competent court in Eibar on Tuesday, 6 October.
At the hearing, the Public Prosecutor’s Office did not request pre-trial detention. As no such request was made, no detention was ordered; the judge granted provisional release subject to conditions, including surrendering travel documents and appearing in person the following day. Only one of the two accused complied with this condition; the man now rearrested failed to appear and had been considered a fugitive ever since.
The arrest in Ermua means he will now appear again before the competent court in Bergara. It can assess the failure to comply with the conditions in the proceedings and decide whether to impose stricter measures. No specific information on grounds for detention, evidence or additional conditions was available by Friday evening. To protect the victim and their privacy, no details of the incident or those affected have been released; this is standard practice in offences involving a minor.
All the locations and authorities involved in the events known so far are in the Basque Country: The alleged offence was reported in Arrasate (Gipuzkoa), the first arrests took place in Soraluze (Gipuzkoa), the first court appearance was held in Eibar (Gipuzkoa), the latest arrest took place in Ermua (Bizkaia), and the court order came from Bergara (Gipuzkoa). The investigation is being conducted by the Ertzaintza, which is under the Basque Security Ministry; the court and public prosecutor will decide on the next steps. The presumption of innocence applies until a final ruling is made.
The confirmed timeline so far is therefore: report of the offence on 3 October, arrests in Soraluze on 4 and 5 October, court appearance in Eibar on 6 October, a subsequent search after the suspect failed to appear, and rearrest in Ermua on 9 October.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).