Terry Prone: Sexual assault of women is still happening and still being defended

This one clip, all 57 seconds of it, is rich in detail which may provide answers to questions about how this kind of thing could continue to happen after MeToo

The man was later arrested after groping TV reporter Isa Balado in Madrid.

Robberies happen in central Madrid, just as robberies happen in Dublin’s Talbot Street. One consequence they share is that reporters end up standing in front of a location, clutching a microphone and talking to a camera, or — through a camera — to the broadcaster anchoring the news bulletin. Not unexpected, then, to see a reporter in a clip from Spanish TV, outlining where and how a recent robbery happened. It was a little unexpected, on the other hand, to see a man coming up the street behind her, stepping into shot, saying something to her, and then patting her on the bottom. She tried to resume the report. The anchorman interrupted her to ask if he’d just seen what he thought he’d witnessed: a total stranger invading her professional activity and person. She confirmed it. The anchorman demanded the man — who he describes as an idiot — be brought back into shot.

At that point, Isa Balado, the reporter, asked the intruder why he felt the need to touch her bottom. He denied it and then compounded the original offence and confirmed a pattern of behavior by doing a spider-caress of her hair before going on his merry way. According to later details given to Madrid police, his merry way included touching other women he encountered as he walked along. Equal opportunities offender, this guy. Doesn’t confine his unsought attentions to the televisually famous. Police later confirmed that the bloke had been arrested and charged with assault on the reporter. The bloke is, of course, innocent until proven guilty.