Not sure how many times the Seaside Gazette has run that headline, but here it is again. He has been acquitted of the charge of fraudulent bankruptcy.

The judge who presided over the case considered that the collection of circumstantial evidence was not enough to defeat the presumption of innocence. He considered that only the ‘merest hint’ of evidence was against the ex-mayor. Yet this was the case that Benavides feared most, but here he is again, acquitted.

The Public Prosecutor had recommended 2.5 years in prison for the each of the four accused: Juan Carlos Benavides, his wife, his right-hand man, Rafael Contreras and his wife – this second couple filed their divorces on the exact same day.

The judge stated that proof did exist that the maintenance allowance set aside by the Mayor and Rafael Contreras for their respective offspring was ‘fictitious,’ but it did not constitute a crime.

The judge also said that he was ‘surprised’ that as soon as both couples had settled on the said child maintenance – bear in mind that the ‘children’ in question are all adults with their own jobs and homes – the estranged wives had immediately demanded that the maintenance be paid in through the court, even though there was no real necessity for this: Rosario Benavides said that her “husband had a bad memor” as justification, whilst Rafael Contreras wife said that “there were things about her spouse that she did not like.”

The accusation held that the two couples connived to reduce their estates via these fictitious allowances to the detriment of their creditors. The defence, on the other hand, claims that the allowances were agreed merely to guarantee the well being of their offspring.

Finally, the judge clarified that as finally the four had been acquitted of the Tropical Fruits charge, where these men and twelve others faced a judicial consequence that would see them paying 1.5m euros… no creditors existed, therefore, they could not have been attempting to shield their estates from them.

Our readers are invited to make of this what they may, because there will be many and varied opinions.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)