> Mark Benavides was sentenced six convictions for trafficking of persons
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Mark Benavides was sentenced six convictions for trafficking of persons
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Description
A Wilson County jury found a former San Antonio attorney guilty of having sex with clients in exchange for legal services.
Mark Henry Benavides was immediately taken into custody Tuesday night in Floresville, where the trial was heard.
It took the panel nearly four hours to find Benavides, 48, guilty on all six counts.
The punishment phase is expected to begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Wilson County District Court in Floresville. He faces 25 to 99 years or life in prison. He has applied for probation, according to court records.
Benavides was accused of continuous trafficking of persons, a first-degree felony. Six former clients he represented as a court-appointed defense attorney in prostitution and drug cases in Bexar County testified that he coerced them into having videotaped sexual encounters with promises to keep them out of jail, get their cases dismissed or lessen their legal problems.
Prosecutor Jay Norton began his closing argument Tuesday by playing snippets of a police interview video in which Benavides was seen and heard telling officers that the case seemed “made up,” and that it could derail his political career because he was running for state district judge.