Cordova. A woman said she was abused for 20 years; a march succeeded in the arrest

CÓRDOBA. Jésica Benítez is 34 years old. Recently, her 18 year old son committed suicide. And that was the trigger for him to dare to do what he had never done: He denounced having spent more than half of his life in a hell in which he suffered physical and psychological violence for 20 years.. Who did this to her was arrested a few hours ago and soon new charges arose against him.

Jésica – just like her ex-partner, who is 69 years old – lives in Santa Eufemia, a town of 800 inhabitants located 240 kilometers from the provincial capital. Shocked by history, by the woman’s confession, these people mobilized en masse to demand justice for her.

The story began when I was 13 years old. “He met me because I got pregnant, and when I went to tell him that I was, with all my joy, he asked me to have an abortion.. My mom, to put it simply, signed a piece of paper like she was taking matters into her own hands, like I was a puppy and you took him away. That’s what my mother did, I don’t judge her, but I lost a lot, I lost my baby… ”.

He added: “It’s not from now. This has been going on for 20 years. It all started when my son died from this psychological abuse of me what did you hear and because of the bad relationship his father had with his brothers ”. He pointed out that his son was a university student and that the father was “pressuring him psychologically”. He left the house. And he made “the saddest decision a human can make.”

Benítez made the first complaint a few years ago. He appeared before the justice of the peace, told him what he was going through, and insisted that he was “psychiatric” and wanted to “be treated” for it. So, he admits, he didn’t want to “send her to jail”, but asked for help. “The judge had the opportunity to do something and she didn’t. He let me live with the worst enemy “he told Channel 69 from Santa Eufemia. This official is María Julia Poli.

“The judge told me that they were going to put a restriction and that for 180 days we were not going to see each other. I believed him. The next day they summoned him and when he got home he threw the paper in my face. “‘So you did that? Tomorrow we’ll go together,” he threatened. The next day, in fact, he brought her back to the judge. “This lady, who is a fool, he played with my life and with the life of my son. He was lucky enough to do something and he didn’t. He let me live with the worst enemy ”.

As the two live in the same town, they continued to cross until his arrest. He remembered that he had subdued the whole family. He said that “he would take his children on the plate” and that his eldest daughter “could never bring friends home because he undressed them”.

The reactions

After her story was made public, the La Carlota prosecutor’s office summoned her to expand her statement and ordered the arrest of the man, which is also under investigation for alleged crimes of qualified sexual abuse due to a pre-existing cohabitation with a person under the age of 18 and disobedience to authority, framed in cases of domestic and gender violence, to the detriment of two women, currently aged 35 and 20.

A statement from the prosecution indicates that the events began in 1999, when one of the victims was a 13-year-old girl, while the accused was 49, and have continued until today, period during which the accused committed different types of violence to the detriment of the victim. As for the other victim, who is 20 years old today, she started being abused when she was 15 and lived in this hell until she was 18.

In addition, he broadened the charge by adding the crimes of << Sexual abuse for having taken advantage of sexual immaturity and sexual abuse with carnal access, for acts committed without a break in continuity from 1999 to 2020“.

In addition, the prosecutor’s office investigation of the actions of police personnel and demanded that the control judge of La Carlota initiate a Judicial investigation into the intervention of the justice of the peace to determine the possible existence of criminal acts.

“On the other hand, as regards the death of the applicant’s son, which occurred last December, the proceedings are taking place in the town of Villa María, where they took place. The relevant actions were sent to the headquarters, ”they said from the prosecution.

Support, demonstration and complaints

In the mobilization after the events took on public status. the residents of Santa Eufemia signed a petition which they gave to the mayor Gerardo Allende. She was invited to “urgently” create an office for the comprehensive care of women victims of gender-based violence.

“Today we come together in this public space to demand justice. Yesterday, the judicial authorities of La Carlota became aware of very serious long-standing acts of violence, which were not heard by the local authorities of Santa Eufemia. The insensitivity and lack of state protection on the one hand, and ignorance and fear on the other, they have provoked an ad nauseam repetition of these situations, with serious consequences of which we are all aware, ”the text specifies.

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