The National Police started Investigation into the murder of the honorary canon of the Cathedral of ValenciaAlfonso Lopez Benito, on January 23, after his body was found in the house where he lived, in the city center and very close to the episcopal see, with Signs of violence.
Two days later, the authorities They arrested a man 34 years old for his possible connection to the murder, and after questioning him and speaking with various neighbors, the police discovered that the 80-year-old religious man, She had sex with boys for money.
A man was arrested in Weak stateHe would often visit the victim's home to maintain relationships there, a behavior that was repeated several times and with many young men, which would have led to some disputes and quarrels between the church man and some of these young men.
Just over two years ago, police had to intervene after an altercation between Lopez Benito and a 20-year-old boy over the disappearance of the monk's phone.
The Archbishop warned Sharia two years ago
The Archdiocese of Valencia stated this in a statement I had no record of the factsdespite of They already explain it They warned Sharia two years ago.
“We warned the canon because the neighbors of the building where he resided complained about people coming to his house, but they in no way alluded to events like the ones he recounted. Since then, we have had no complaints again.”
Express”Deep painBecause the facts are “clearly inconsistent with the obligations of priestly life” and “clear.”Scandal, confusion and painThis condition “caused especially to believers and members of the clergy.”
The arrested person is accused of murder and fraud
The arrested man, aged 34, had met the cleric at the bus station in Valencia. The monk had invited the man to spend a few days at his house, where he was going to kill him.
After the incident, the detainee decided to flee and took the deceased’s credit card and phone and used them in the hours that followed the murder. This greatly facilitated the work of the authorities They quickly located him.
The man went to jail last weekend on chargesMurder and fraud.
Both the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Diocese of Valencia asked the judge to send the detainee to prison “given the seriousness of the events, the evidence presented by the accusations, and the risk of flight.”
PSPV-PSOE calls for the provision of legal coverage to victims
Following the incident, the PSPV-PSOE asked the Valencian government to provide legal cover for victims of sexual abuse that may have been committed inside a church in the Valencian region.
“The events that have occurred in recent days show that these are not things of the past,” Mercedes Caballero, spokeswoman for the PSPV-PSOE's historical memory in the courts, emphasized.
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