Summary: San Antonio attorney Mark Benavides, accused of recording sexual encounters with clients, had his trial delayed until March.
The charges against former San Antonio attorney Mark Benavides seem to keep changing and adding up. The attorney accused of having sex with his female clients is now facing human trafficking charges. His trial, which was set to begin in two weeks, has been pushed back to the end of March.
Benavides’ attorney asked Judge Dick Alcala to delay the trial due to her co-counsel developing a serious medical issue. He granted that request. The trial will also be held in Floresville per a request of a change of venue by his attorney.
Benavides is facing six counts of human trafficking for having sex with female clients and recording the sexual encounters. A big part of the evidence is the recordings. The sentences for each count are 25 to 99 years meaning if he is found guilty on all six charges, Benavides will be sentenced to a minimum of 150 years.
Prosecutor Meredith Chacon said, “It’s putting on six cases, kind of, within one so we have six victims we have to put on and all of the attendant evidence that goes on with those cases.” She explained that they plan to ask Alcala to “stack” the sentences so they will run consecutively and could result in him spending the rest of his life behind bars.
This trial is not the only legal trouble Benavides is dealing with. There are other indictments pending on separate cases for sexual assault, sexual assault of a child, and compelling prostitution. He has already been disbarred last year as a result of the allegations.
Benavides was a prominent attorney in San Antonio, even running for state district judge at one point. He was first arrested in November 2015 when he was a candidate for state district judge. The allegations against him run from 2009 to 2015. The newest charges against him from July alleged that he used “force, fraud and coercion” to receive sex from at least six women for up to 22 months in some cases. Many of his victims were poor so they agreed to sex in exchange for legal representation. At least one of the victims was underage when she had sex with Benavides the first time.
Do you think the reason for delaying the trial is good enough or should the trial be required to proceed as planned? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
To learn more about the case, read these articles:
- Woman Says She Traded Sex for Legal Services
- San Antonio Lawyer Compelled Clients for Sex
- San Antonio Attorney Charged with Compelling Prostitution and Sexual Assault of a Child
Photo: ksat.com