Judicial investigators have identified a person suspected of posting the video on the web, said Olvido Hormigos, a municipal councillor in the village of Los Yebenes, in central Spain.

Hormigos, a primary school teacher and mother of two who also works for the local council, filmed herself masturbating, in images reportedly destined for her husband.

She said she had no idea how the images were stolen from her mobile phone and posted on the internet, where they were soon seen by thousands of people.

The village's governing conservative People's Party, a rival of Hormigos' Socialists, denied any involvement in the affair. Media reports said the judiciary suspected one of Hormigos' acquaintances.

Villagers were soon booing and insulting Hormigos, who announced her resignation. But she then backtracked, saying she had not done anything wrong.

"For God's sake, this is a private act, something that everyone does without being filmed and ... divulging it would be disgusting, an act to hurt this poor woman," new technologies expert Enrique Dans told Spanish daily El Pais on Friday