In news that has shocked a local Texas community, a local pastor has been arrested for raping a woman with disabilities who was previously under his care, according to the Webb County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities served the pastor, identified as 58-year-old Jorge Ariel Benavides, an arrest warrant on Sept. 12, charging him with “aggravated sexual assault of a special needs person.” Despite being arrested, Benavides was shortly released on bond on Sept. 15, the Laredo Morning Times reported.
While the arrest took place just this week, it is connected to an incident from March 2022. Webb County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a late sexual assault report at a home in the Santa Rita neighborhood in south Laredo on March 2. According to the arrest affidavit, the victim told a sheriff’s deputy that Benavides had sexually assaulted her on Feb. 1.
The woman states that Benavides picked her up on Feb. 1 at about 9 PM local time. According to court documents, the woman was allegedly under the impression that Benavides was going to take her to Las Lomas to show her some paperwork having to do with him adopting her. The two allegedly had a very close relationship, with the woman considering him and his late wife to be "spiritual parents," according to Benavides.
But once at the ranch, she said Benavides told her they were going to “chill.”
Benavides then allegedly removed his clothing and told her to go into the room to remove hers. The woman feared no one would believe her over Benavides, then removed her own.
“When asked what suspect Benavides had done to cause her such fear, (the woman) stated she had been advised by suspect Benavides multiple times that she would be placed in a mental institution with the state because she is a consumer and no one would believe that a priest had raped her,” the affidavit, obtained by Laredo Morning Times said.
Benavides sexually assaulted the woman, who said she did not fight back, fearing that if she did, he would send her to a mental institution. Benavides then sexually assaulted her a second time, “where suspect Benavides would then pull her hair and tell her that he loved her,” the affidavit said.
After sexually assaulting the woman, Benavides then told her to go back to his car.
“(The woman) then stated that when she was going into the truck, suspect Benavides advised (her) to pray because she was going to hell for the sin she had committed,” the affidavit said.
After being taken home, the woman confided in a female friend who helped her report the incident to police.
After being reported to the Laredo Police Department and Adult Protective Services, the case was transferred to the Sheriff’s Office. After meeting with investigators from the Sheriff’s Office on March 23, investigators found evidence matching the woman’s recollection the following day, including a vehicle matching the description of Benavides’ vehicle that was stationed at Rancho Las Lomas on the night of the incident.
When asked by investigators about his relationship t the woman, Benavides claimed that his late wife was her foster mother and caretaker, and that they had all lived together. Court documents indicate he then claimed he had not had sex with the woman, and said that her “life was on the wrong path” and he was trying to fix it. Benavides claimed that the woman was making allegations of rape against him because, when she wanted to have sex with other men and her advances were not reciprocated, she often threatened to accuse them of rape.
According to court documents, Benavides also accused her of having porn on her cellphone and messages from men wanting to have sex. He denied all allegations of his involvement with her.
But Benavides wasn't the only one attempting to blame his victim. According to the affidavit, a friend of his allegedly harassed the victim and pressed her to drop her charges. Additionally, a representative of Happy Families, LLC.—the foundation Benavides owns—provided information showing that the woman was a “special needs individual,” but claimed the woman had “attention seeking” tendencies and often lodged accusations of sexual misconduct to get attention, authorities said.
Despite their efforts to shame the victim and discount her story, the woman’s foster mother noted that the woman was “distraught” the night of the incident, and complained of pain “down there.”
A sexual assault test (SANE exam) later found indications of semen on her body; further examination found DNA matching a sample provided by Benavides.
The arrest documents indicate Benavides was a pastor at Iglesia Christiana Casa de Dios, a church no longer exists due to a contract that expired at the rental building.
More than 10 million men and women experience sexual assault and domestic abuse each year, estimates the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). You are not alone and what you are going through is not your fault. Click here for a list of resources for survivors.