Judge closes abuse investigation into ex-Barcelona youth coach
Barcelona, Jan 28, 2022 (AFP) - A Spanish judge has dismissed an investigation into accusations against a former Barcelona youth coach for sexual abuse at a public school where he taught, AFP has learnt on Friday.
The judge deemed that the 16 complaints against Albert Benaiges, which related to events that allegedly took place between 1980 and 1999, were too old to be prosecuted, according to information from the Catalan daily Ara confirmed by judicial sources to AFP.
Ara reported in December that more than 60 of Benaiges's former students had accused him of sexually abusing pupils while he was a physical education teacher at their school in Barcelona.
The complaints were from alleged victims of the abuse or former students who say they witnessed it.
Among the accusations levelled against Benaiges were claims that he showed children pornographic videos, exposed himself, touched children and made them undress in front of classmates.
The alleged abuse took place in the showers and gym of the school where he taught physical education for 38 years until 2010, as well as at his home and at camps.
The 71-year-old denied the allegations when contacted by Ara in December.
"My conscience is very clear, I have never forced anybody," he told the newspaper.
"I have never hurt anyone and if I have, it wasn't intentionally."
Benaiges was a key member of Barcelona's youth training academy, known as La Masia, from 1991-2011, coinciding with a generation of the club's best players, including Andres Iniesta.
After leaving the club in 2011, Benaiges went on to work abroad for several years, including spells in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and the Dominican Republic.
He rejoined Barcelona's youth academy after Joan Laporta was re-elected as the club's president in March 2021.
Benaiges left Barca at the end of last year "for personal reasons", according to Laporta after the scandal broke.
The president of Barca later expressed his support for the victims and said the club would investigate to find out if there had been abuses in its centres.