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| Brooke Bennett - Missing 12-Year-Old Vermont Girl - Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Next |
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tulsad
 Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:09 am |
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3rd Suspect In Brooke Bennett Case: Raoul Domingo, Sex Ring
by Jack Ryan
Jul 3, 2008
Brooke Bennett Case - A third suspect has been identified in the case of Brooke Bennett - Raoul Domingo, who lured another minor girl into sexual relationships.
Brooke, who was found dead in a shallow grave near her uncle's home yesterday, was also lured in by her own uncle who wanted to initiate her into the sex ring just before she suddenly vanished. Her uncle Michael Jacques, who is currently in jail, is being charged with her kidnapping.
Police had arrested missing 12-year-old Brooke's uncle Michael Jacques and stepfather Ray Gagnon in connection with a sex ring involving other young girls and older men, recently saying Ray Gagnon "destroyed evidence" possibly related to Brooke's disappearance.
Brooke, who had been missing since last Wednesday, was not thought to be directly involved in the sex ring. Brooke's stepfather, Ray Gagnon, who she lived with for six years, has been arrested on charges of sexual assault against a minor. Jacques was also arrested on sex charges.
Now we learn that the arrests came after a 14-year-old female family member told police that she's been abused by Jacques since she was just 9-years-old after finding a note under her pillow informing her that she was being 'enrolled' in a 'sex ring/school'.
She revealed to police that there were other girls and other men involved. Police learned that the Jacques was trying to initiate Brooke into the sex ring before she vanished. According to police, the investigation is far from over.
Press Conference upcoming...
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212156066.shtml
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Sparkly Tree
Joined: 19 Aug 2006
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| BornCynic
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:56 am |
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From the Press Conference
Investigation ongoing but right now no other suspects. IP addy thought to be that of a third suspect led back Jacques. State charges will be dropped without prejudice, which means they can be refiled. Federal charges may be expanded after the autopsy results are known.
As an aside: Vermont has no death penalty but Jacques could face death under federal charges.
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Joined: 31 May 2006
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| tulsad
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:02 am |
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From "Missing and Murdered Children"
blog about missing and murdered children
Updates:
June 29, 2008 [snipped]
Two days ago, WCAX asked Brooke’s father, Jim Bennett, whether he believed a family member was involved with Brooke’s disappearance. He said, “I guess there’s some question about the uncle, but I don’t personally know him that well, so I can’t say."
I wonder why Brooke’s father would not be aware of Jacque’s sex offender status. This girl did not have to worry about the predators on the web when she had just spent the night at a registered sex offender’s home the night before she disappeared.
Jacques is not a stranger to law enforcement or this type of crime. He is a registered sex offender in Vermont. He was convicted in 1993 of sexual assault and kidnapping. The Vermont Sex Offender Registry indicates he is treatment compliant and is no longer under supervision.7
Police are insistent that this arrest is in no way connected to Brooke’s disappearance.
I bet they find out otherwise later on something different.
Jacques will be arraigned on the charges Monday. He is being held on $100,000 bail. If found guilty of aggravated sexual assault he could face 10 years to life in prison plus fines.
June 30, 2008 - 9p.m. PST: I was not far off the mark when I got that gut feeling of mine about this case and hesitated to write for a few days. Since posting the news of Michael Jacque’s arrest for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor who lives in Randolph, more has come to light.
The victim, now 14 years of age is a family member. Her alleged victimization at the hands of her uncle, Michael Jacques began when she was just 9 years old. The abuse lasted for 5 years and only just ended a few weeks ago.
She claims she was contacted by telephone and via a note left underneath her pillow, purportedly left by Jacques. It was an invitation. She was told she had been ‘chosen’ by the President of the United States to participate in a sex program called the Brekenridge Program. She was told that Michael Jacques had been chosen to be her trainer and that there were 2 other girls participating. Whoever participated first would live, the other would have their throat slashed.
Court documents revealed the girl was pretty much tortured for the past 5 years and there were at least 3 other adult males involved who told her what sex acts she needed to perform in order to graduate from the program.8
Time and time again pedophiles insist they are getting a raw deal by having to register on the sex offender registry, especially when they have already served their time. They claim they can be trusted to live amongst our children.
If the charges against Michael Jacques are true, let’s examine the situation:
Michael Jacques was arrested and convicted in 1993 for the crime of sexual assault and kidnapping. He served 3 years in prison for those crimes. He participated in sex offender treatment inside of prison and I will assume that treatment continued after his release while he was under supervision. The supervision ended in 2006 and the Vermont Sex Offender Registry entry indicates that he was ‘treatment compliant’.
Five years ago it was 2003 and Jacques was under supervision, perhaps still undergoing treatment, and all the while it is alleged he was sexually assaulting at least one minor, and police believe there could be additional victims.
In view of Michael Jacque’s past history, the new, serious charges against him, and the revelation that he was the one to find the item’s of Brooke’s clothing by the lake, one would think the judge would have denied him bail.
No, that was not the case. His attorney fought for bail indicating the evidence against his client is sparse, he is a home owner, has a job in another state and needs to get to work. The judge agreed and put a 24 hour curfew on him except for work.
He is married and his wife attended his arraignment today. She did not have any comment for the press.
While Jacques was in court being arraigned state police agencies from Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut converged on the Jacque’s property to search for Brooke.
Jacques is now considered a ‘person of interest’ in the disappearance of his niece.
July 1, 2008 [snipped]
According to Brooke’s father, Brooke lived with Gagnon for 6 years in Alabama before he moved to Texas. He and Brooke’s mother were divorced in 2006. 12
I am really puzzled about the makeup of this family.
Brooke was living with her mother, grandmother, brother and sister before she was reported missing. However, she has not appeared in any interviews with the media. Brooke’s father has appeared twice on Greta Van Susteren’s Fox program On the Record. However, it was Brooke’s grandmother who made the call to police reporting her disappearance 12 hours after she was last seen.
On another note, you can read the Probable Cause Affidavit against Michael Jacques. Warning, some of the details are graphic.
3:00 p.m. PST: I found a video interview with Brooke’s mother, sister and father on the Early Show. It was held this morning. I am not sure what to make of the mother and her holding the teddy bear. The sister is about to come unglued. She is the only one showing any emotion.
[snipped]
5p.m. PST: The criminal past of Michael Jacques looks relatively tame on the Vermont Sex Offender Registry. It states he was treatment compliant and he was released from supervision. Some might look at that information and think, well the guy was following the rules and he was pretty much harmless.
The reality of what caused his charges is much more brutal and truthful:
In 1992, he was convicted of kidnapping and rape. Court records show that the victim was an 18-year-old woman he supervised at a fast-food business in Rutland. The records show he and a friend got her drunk and then he alone forced her into his car and over the next four hours raped her several times while she was choked with a rope around her neck, gagged with a cloth in her mouth, and handcuffed with police-style cuffs.
The victim later told police that Jacques told her he had killed a 12-year-old girl he raped in Arizona in 1985 because she threatened to go to the police, so he had to kill her.14
So what is clearly established is that he has been proven to not only be a sexual predator he also has a propensity for being a violent sex offender. His claim of murdering a 12-year-old Arizona girl in 1985 that could never be proven now takes on more emphasis given the fact that Brooke is the same age. Maybe Jacques was sexually assaulting Brooke and she threatened to tell and he murdered her just as he claimed about the other young witness in 1985.
Even though the crime was brutal he was allowed to enter a plea of No Contest to the charges and received a plea bargain:
Jacques did plead no contest to the charges of kidnap and rape in Vermont. In return, under a plea agreement, he got six years in prison, but was released after serving only four and half with credit for good time.15
He was also required to complete sex offender treatment before being released from supervision and probation. Given the new charges against him we know how well that treatment was working.
And there is another conviction:
Jacques does have another conviction– in 1985 in Washington County for lewd and lascivious conduct. (Ibid.))
Currently there is no further information on that 1985 conviction.
What baffles me even more is that the family knew about all of this and they still allowed children to be around him on a regular basis.
July 2, 2008 - 2p.m.: Last night I expressed my shock about how Brooke’s family could continue to embrace Michael Jacques considering his past conviction for kidnapping and sexual assault. I found an article that shed some light on their belief system.
During an interview on Tuesday with Burlington FreePress Reporter Joel Banner Baird, Brooke’s grandmother, Lucinda Milne, addressed the issue of Michael Jacque’s past and involvement.
“My family’s being torn apart,” she continued. “Michael has been my son-in-law for 12 years. That’s why I can say that I love him. I hugged him when Brooke went missing. And then I found out about this — well, you know what that did to my stomach.”
Close family friend Lorretta Hutchinson of Randolph nodded in agreement.
“He was a good uncle and he loves his children,” she said. “He’s just sick.”16
I do not agree with Loretta Hutchinson as far as being a good uncle and father. A good uncle and father would not prey on his own nieces and children as it is alleged in court documents. - And a good father and uncle would certainly not pimp them out to other pedophiles as it appears may have happened. A good person just does not do that. As far as being sick, well he was participating in this activity while he was in treatment for his sickness. Why didn’t he ask for help during the time he was under supervision while he was reoffending? I will say it is because they would have violated his probation and he would have been sent back to prison to serve the remainder of his twenty-year sentence.
Now, today, according to federal court documents it was revealed that Brooke was taken back to Jacques’ house:
A 14-year-old told authorities she helped Michael Jacques, Brooke Bennett’s uncle, take the 12-year-old to Jacques’ Randolph home on June 25 to be initiated into a sex ring called Breckinridge. Brooke has not been seen since that day. The girl said she understood that as part of the initiation, Brooke “would have sex with adult males,” according to the affidavit in U.S. District Court.17
On that day, she and Brooke watched television for awhile until Jacques told her to leave. She left with her boyfriend and that was the last time she saw Brooke.
I am not sure, but I am going to guess at this point the 14-year-old was getting too old for the Breckenridge Program and she was told if she would help get Brooke into the program then she would graduate and no longer have to participate.
4:11p.m. PST: In a short statement at a news conference Vermont State Police confirmed the discovery of a body that is believed to be Brooke Bennett:
“It is with a heavy heart… and deep sadness… that I announce we have located what we believe to be the remains of Brooke Bennett,” said Vt. State Police Col. James Baker. “This death is clearly suspicious. It appears to be foul play.” 18
Police say they have advised Brooke’s family of the discovery.
Her remains will be taken to the medical examiner’s officer for positive identification and cause and manner of death.
I had hoped this story was not going to turn out this way but I somehow knew it would be bad from the time she was reported missing.
The investigation has revealed so far that the people allowed into Brooke’s life were dangerous and they were not strangers. They were people familiar to her, people she should have been by all rights able to trust.
Most likely what happened was Jacques tried to have sex with Brooke and she fought him off and he killed her because she would not go along with the ‘program’.
I wonder how many more victims he has. Maybe authorities should go back and investigate that claim he made about killing the 12-year-old girl in Arizona back in 1985. He claimed he killed her because she threatened to go to the police. Perhaps there is a pattern.
I wonder what the family friend has to say now about Michael Jacques’ sickness.
It is expected that Michael Jacques will be back in court tomorrow and charged with Brooke Bennett’s kidnapping.
More was revealed regarding the Obstruction of Justice charges against Ray Gagnon, Brooke’s former stepfather. It is alleged he had a laptop computer at his Texas home in a safe. The contents of that laptop included hundreds of images of child pornopgraphy including a still image of two minors engaging in a sex act. The female minor is the one making the allegations against both Gagnon and Jacques. The male minor is her boyfriend. You can read the entire affidavit here. It contains graphic content.
7:30p.m. PST: While I realize it is pretty early to begin thinking about punishment for Michael Jacques, I am sitting here wondering if he might be death-penalty eligible. That is of course, if he is charged with Brooke’s murder and found guilty. I didn’t think Vermont was a death penalty state and I am right.
However, news late today indicated Michael Jacques will be charged with federal charges of kidnapping as it pertains to Brooke’s disappearance. The website, Death Penalty Information Center indicates that there are a few instances where the death penalty can be sought that might be appropriate in the Michael Jacques case.
Federal law allows for the administration of the death penalty for the following crimes:
1. murder during the commission of a kidnapping
2. murder related to rape or child molestation
3. murder related to sexual exploitation of children
Just on the surface in appears one or more of those charges will fit.
I hope they prosecute him all the way at the federal level. I also hope they can tie the stepfather to enough of the crimes that he can be executed as well.
8p.m PST: Just sitting here thinking about the Breckenridge Program. I was wondering where they came up with that name and what the connection could be. All I could think of was the 1970’s movie called Myra Breckenridge. It was a movie with Raquel Welch, Farrah Fawcett and Mae West, among others. The plot of the movie is a man who wants to undergo a sex change. The movie was loosely based on the book written by Gore Vidal. Although he never saw the movie, he claimed the movie stopped the sale of his book for 10 years because it was so bad.19
Anyway, I thought I was on the wrong track with this idea until I came upon the following quote:
Myra Breckinridge is about as funny as a child molester.
The quote is from Time magazine. Just food for thought.
http://missingandmurderedchildren.facesofthemissing.org/
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Sparkly Tree
Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Posts: 10139
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| Phantom
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:27 am |
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Re: From the Press Conference
| BornCynic wrote: | Investigation ongoing but right now no other suspects. IP addy thought to be that of a third suspect led back Jacques. State charges will be dropped without prejudice, which means they can be refiled. Federal charges may be expanded after the autopsy results are known.
As an aside: Vermont has no death penalty but Jacques could face death under federal charges. |
How can anyone object to the death penalty, if convicted, for this monster?
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Joined: 05 Jun 2006
Posts: 3332
Location: My only friend, the end
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| BornCynic
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:39 am |
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Jacques affidavit
This is the State affidavit not the Federal.
Warning, Graphic!!
http://blackpearl.wcax.com/documents/Jacques_affidavit.pdf
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Joined: 31 May 2006
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| Arubalover
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:53 am |
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Re: From the Press Conference
| Phantom wrote: |
How can anyone object to the death penalty, if convicted, for this monster? |
Yes, I wonder that myself. Some people think executing a murderer of a child is uncivilized. 
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Joined: 24 Nov 2007
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| Katie
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 2:29 pm |
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| Phantom wrote: | | There's a third suspect, the guy who lured the first girl into this "ring". |
Thanks Phantom 
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| SavannahStar
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 2:30 pm |
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| Katie wrote: |
Thanks Phantom |
Just saw that quote. Untrue. There is a third "name" which is a fake name of Jacques.
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**SuperStar**
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 21295
Location: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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| Katie
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 2:35 pm |
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| SavannahStar wrote: |
Just saw that quote. Untrue. There is a third "name" which is a fake name of Jacques. |
Thanks , just go home from work and grrrrrr, its so hard to keep up, I was very saddened by the news of her death but you kind of knew it was going to turn out like this , when we found out the uncle was a sex offender 
I really hate men sometimes and weak women , the Uncles wife should be charged also, she saw child porn on the PC and did nothing
Ok counting to ten before I'm timed out 
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| BornCynic
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:30 pm |
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| SavannahStar wrote: |
Just saw that quote. Untrue. There is a third "name" which is a fake name of Jacques. |
| Katie wrote: |
Thanks , just go home from work and grrrrrr, its so hard to keep up, I was very saddened by the news of her death but you kind of knew it was going to turn out like this , when we found out the uncle was a sex offender
I really hate men sometimes and weak women , the Uncles wife should be charged also, she saw child porn on the PC and did nothing
Ok counting to ten before I'm timed out |
At the presser they said all IP's led back to Jacques concerning Brooke. Yet in the state affidavit against Jacques the 14year old said she had met 3 men in the "Breckenridge Program". From the other affidavit we can assume one of the others was Gagnon. Who was the third? Her BF maybe or someone else?
Also, Denise Jacques had warning signs besides the kiddie porn.
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Joined: 31 May 2006
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| SavannahStar
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:45 pm |
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| BornCynic wrote: |
At the presser they said all IP's led back to Jacques concerning Brooke. Yet in the state affidavit against Jacques the 14year old said she had met 3 men in the "Breckenridge Program". From the other affidavit we can assume one of the others was Gagnon. Who was the third? Her BF maybe or someone else?
Also, Denise Jacques had warning signs besides the kiddie porn. |
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/assets/pdf/BT11210673.PDF
Read it and weep.
It's ALL Jacques.
And "Victim 1" (A.R., the cousin) DISGUSTS ME. 
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**SuperStar**
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 21295
Location: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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| Phantom
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:50 pm |
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If I'm away from my computer when someone logs into sites or sends emails using my computer does that mean "I" logged into those sites or sent those emails?
All it means is that a person or persons used my computer to log into sites or sent emails.
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Joined: 05 Jun 2006
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Location: My only friend, the end
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| SavannahStar
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:53 pm |
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Computer forensics.
It's all Jacques.
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**SuperStar**
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 21295
Location: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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| Katie
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:58 pm |
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| BornCynic wrote: |
At the presser they said all IP's led back to Jacques concerning Brooke. Yet in the state affidavit against Jacques the 14year old said she had met 3 men in the "Breckenridge Program". From the other affidavit we can assume one of the others was Gagnon. Who was the third? Her BF maybe or someone else?
Also, Denise Jacques had warning signs besides the kiddie porn. |
Yeas I know about the other signs , they weren't real subtle either but seeing kiddie porn on your computer is a lot more than a sign that is cold hard evidence. I'm sorry love my husband too but if I found something like that on my pc I'd pack it up and head straight to the police and he's out until it is proved that it was accidental
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| BornCynic
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:59 pm |
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I read in one of the stories that the semen on the handkerchief Jacques planted was traced to "juvenile 1"s boyfriend identified as "juvenile 2" in the federal indictment. It also says he was not part of Breckenridge. This still leaves open the possibility that there is another unidentified man in the "program" that was not involved in Brookes murder.
Last edited by BornCynic on Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:12 pm; edited 1 time in total
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| Phantom
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:07 pm |
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| SavannahStar wrote: | Computer forensics.
It's all Jacques. |
Computer forensics will tell you from which computer and from which IP address an email was sent, but it ain't gonna tell you who sat at that computer, wrote and sent any particular email.
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Location: My only friend, the end
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| tulsad
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 6:56 pm |
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| BornCynic wrote: |
At the presser they said all IP's led back to Jacques concerning Brooke. Yet in the state affidavit against Jacques the 14year old said she had met 3 men in the "Breckenridge Program". From the other affidavit we can assume one of the others was Gagnon. Who was the third? Her BF maybe or someone else?
Also, Denise Jacques had warning signs besides the kiddie porn. |
From the state affidavit, p. 3 (paraphrased): she found girl #1 in a towel in their home when she came home early from work one day, MJ was walking down the stairs as she came in - the girl told her she had taken a shower, but the shower was dry; she then found KY jelly and a pornographic DVD in their bedroom, when she asked MJ about them, he said he didn't know where they came from.
http://blackpearl.wcax.com/documents/Jacques_affidavit.pdf
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Sparkly Tree
Joined: 19 Aug 2006
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| gwen
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:37 pm |
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OMG - How disgusting this whole mess is. What evil people!!!
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AKA Gagal_05
Joined: 24 Feb 2007
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| chance
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:01 pm |
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| Katie wrote: |
Yeas I know about the other signs , they weren't real subtle either but seeing kiddie porn on your computer is a lot more than a sign that is cold hard evidence. I'm sorry love my husband too but if I found something like that on my pc I'd pack it up and head straight to the police and he's out until it is proved that it was accidental |
I am with you Katie I would be going straight to the police or my gun cabinet to take him in myself.
This whole thing is sick. What a sick bunch of people.
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Location: Deep in the heart of Texas
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| BornCynic
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 3:54 am |
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| chance wrote: |
I am with you Katie I would be going straight to the police or my gun cabinet to take him in myself.
This whole thing is sick. What a sick bunch of people. |
During the press conference one of the reporters prefaced his question saying
"This family was obviously off the rails"......
An understatement I believe.
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| LISA
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 4:47 am |
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Prosecutors: Deception ran deep in Vt. kidnapping
Friday, July 04, 2008
By DAVE GRAM, Associated Press Writer
BURLINGTON, Vt. —
A Vermont man whose 12-year-old niece was found dead near his home carefully orchestrated events and e-mails to make it appear she had gone to see someone she met online, prosecutors said Thursday as they charged him with kidnapping.
Michael Jacques, 42, could face the death penalty under federal law if convicted in the disappearance of Brooke Bennett. An autopsy has not confirmed whether the girl was killed.
Citing statements from another girl, prosecutors claim in an affidavit that Jacques tricked Brooke into thinking she was going to a party and instead took her to his Randolph home to initiate her into a child sex ring on June 25, the day she disappeared.
The girl's body was found Wednesday in a shallow grave near Jacques' house.
But no new evidence of a wider child sex ring has been found, beyond the claims of the 14-year-old that were released Wednesday in another affidavit unsealed in U.S. District Court in Burlington, officials said.
"There's nothing from this investigation that's been turned up, nor otherwise are federal and state authorities aware of, any ongoing efforts to recruit young girls or boys here in Vermont to have sex with adults," Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell said at a news conference Thursday.
Authorities said they still weren't sure if there was a sex ring or whether there was a ruse Jacques might have used to intimidate the girls.
Michael Desautels, the federal public defender representing Jacques, didn't return calls Thursday.
Authorities say Jacques faked and altered postings to Brooke's MySpace pages in an effort to persuade investigators she planned to run off with someone she met through the social networking site.
The tampering was discovered by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, housed at the Burlington Police Department.
Jacques is charged under a federal law that provides for the death penalty in a kidnapping resulting in a child's death. In 1993, he was sentenced to six to 20 years in prison after being convicted of kidnapping and raping an 18-year-old woman he supervised at a Rutland restaurant, court records show. He successfully completed the state's sex offender treatment program in 2000 and was released from probation in 2006.
With autopsy results still pending, prosecutors said they could not say that Bennett was killed. If she was, U.S. Attorney Tom Anderson was asked whether he would seek the death penalty.
"That determination would be made after the investigation is completed, after the case is presented to a grand jury and, ultimately, that decision is made by the attorney general of the United States of America," Anderson said.
The FBI affidavits support the charges against Jacques and against Bennett's former stepfather, Raymond Gagnon, who is charged with obstructing justice.
Allegations in the affidavits include a claim by a 14-year-old that, at age 9, she was initiated into a "program for sex" called "Breckenridge" and that a male relative was to be her trainer. The girl told police that she was told she would be killed if she didn't cooperate.
The teenager told authorities that Brooke was to be inducted into the sex ring the day she disappeared.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jul04/0,4670,MissingGirl,00.html
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| chance
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:04 am |
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Brooke Bennett: A bright flame fades
July 4, 2008
By SARAH HINCKLEY Times Argus Staff
Those who knew Brooke Bennett, whether it was in the halls of Randolph High School or out on the lacrosse field, knew the young girl's enthusiasm for Halloween.
They also knew that contagious bright smile, the one splashed across television screens and newspapers nationwide this week. They knew Brooke's smile was genuine, not a pose.
"The thing that I like about her was the here-now outlook on life she had," said Angel Blanchard, 14, who met Brooke at a school dance two years ago.
Brooke didn't worry about the past or what could happen in the future, Blanchard said. Brooke was focused on today.
The two girls attended Braintree Elementary School together and went on to play lacrosse in seventh grade at Randolph High School.
On Wednesday night, Blanchard was one of 300 people in Randolph Village who showed up for a vigil-turned-memorial service to support Brooke's family in the fresh hours of their grief.
Two hours before the ceremony was to begin, authorities confirmed the state's worst fear: Brooke Bennett, who had been missing since June 25 and sparked the state's first-ever Amber Alert, had been found dead.
But the focus, as the shock and grief seeped in, remained on Brooke's bright character and life.
"She had such an easy-going personality, liked everybody and was a great person to be around," said Blanchard, standing with other classmates. "She got into the whole Halloween thing, whenever we had a dance she got into it and dressed up."
The girl with the independent streak gave her all when being competitive, too.
Brooke tried her hand at two sports her first year at Randolph High School: lacrosse and basketball.
When it came to lacrosse, it took Brooke a while to pick up the game. But Blanchard and teammate Autumn Langlois agreed: Brooke was determined to become the best player she could be.
"When she got embarrassed, she'd laugh about it," said Langlois, 14. "When she started out, she had trouble with cradling, but she picked it up … She was fairly good. She worked hard … She was determined to figure something out."
At practice, Brooke would sprint and give it her all, Langlois said. The same went for game time. There was one instance when Brooke's focus was so intense that when she scored she nearly lost her chance at glory.
"She was so shocked, she didn't even know she made the goal at first," Blanchard said. "Everyone was yelling and screaming, and she was like, 'what's going on?' "
Basketball was Brooke's other sport. Coach Laura Miller, who grew up with James Bennett, Brooke's father, laughed when asked whether Brooke brought skills to the team. The laugh signaled a different strength brought to the game.
"She was a blast," said Miller, who also is a cook at the high school and saw the seventh-grader at lunch each day. "She got along with everybody. She was always laughing, that's all she was about was laughing."
Friends recalled a more personal side to the girl.
For Chris Decoteau, Brooke's bright blue eyes were what he remembered most about his dear friend. Decoteau, 14, admitted to having a crush on Brooke, and had enjoyed numerous phone conversations with her at the start of this summer vacation.
"I just know she was funny and nice, really nice," he said shyly. "She laughs easily … I also remember her laughing about the freckle on her toe … She didn't really care what people thought."
In the Amber Alert, issued the day after she disappeared and lifted within an hour of finding her body, the description of Brooke included purple highlights in her hair, pierced ears and that endearing freckle on her toe.
"He was going to date her, but now he'll never get the chance," said Langlois, standing in a circle with Decoteau and his older sister before the Wednesday night vigil.
"She made a lot of good friends and she made them easily," said Danielle Decoteau, 15, who was a year ahead of Brooke in school. "I don't ever remember her being upset about anything."
Brooke often hung out with girls older than her, whether they were teammates or lunch buddies. She was the youngest of Cassandra Gagnon's three children. Her brother, Dennis Andress, is two years older, and while friends say they got along most of the time — as brothers and sisters do — he was protective of the younger Brooke.
Daisey Lumbra, 16, who said she is more familiar with Andress but remembers Brooke, noticed Brooke from the commute to and from school on the bus.
"She talked with everyone," said Lumbra, emphasizing that Brooke was hardly shy or reserved. "She never held back when she had something to say."
Brooke often sat near the front of the bus with her friends, many of who had assigned seating, Lumbra said, recalling Brooke being louder than most of the other riders.
Perhaps that was the presence Brooke looked to imprint on those who knew her.
Coach Miller recalled a particular aspect of Brooke's basketball game that became her signature.
"She had one of the best defenses," Miller said. "She had a defense we would call … 'the octopus defense.' "
It consisted of arms flailing, holding off opponents, determined to block moves, like an octopus, she said. "She was tough," said Langlois about her teammate and friend. "She wouldn't put up with anybody."
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080704/NEWS04/807040401/1004/NEWS03
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Joined: 24 Mar 2006
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Location: Deep in the heart of Texas
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| Katie
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:19 pm |
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| chance wrote: |
I am with you Katie I would be going straight to the police or my gun cabinet to take him in myself.
This whole thing is sick. What a sick bunch of people. |
Yeah the gun cabinet is a much better choice considering the other signs, the first being he was a convicted sexual offender
I'm sorry cases like this I'm a Death penalty supporter.
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Joined: 25 Mar 2006
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| LISA
Posted:
Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:47 am |
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New Details of Uncle's Arrest Record Emerge in Vermont Death Case
Friday , July 04, 2008
Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Vt. —
Prosecutors on Thursday filed federal kidnapping charges that carry the death penalty against a man whose niece was found buried near his home after being missing for a week as new details emerged about the uncle's arrest record.
Officials said they've found no new evidence of a wider child sex ring beyond an underage girl's claim to them that she was in it and 12-year-old Brooke Bennett was to be initiated into it the day she disappeared.
"There's nothing from this investigation that's been turned up, nor otherwise are federal and state authorities aware of, any ongoing efforts to recruit young girls or boys here in Vermont to have sex with adults," Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell said at a joint news conference with federal prosecutors.
Depending on how Brooke died, prosecutors said her uncle, Michael Jacques, 42, could face the death penalty under the federal kidnapping law.
U.S. Attorney Tom Anderson said the 2006 Adam Walsh law — named for another abducted child — allowed federal prosecution of such crimes when they are facilitated by the Internet.
Asked whether he will seek the death penalty, Anderson said: "That determination will be made after the investigation is completed, after the case is presented to a grand jury and ultimately that decision is made by the attorney general of the United States of America."
Jacques' lawyer, federal public defender Michael Desautels, did not return calls Thursday.
This is not the first time Jacques has been in trouble. In 1993, he was sentenced to six to 20 years in prison after being convicted of kidnapping and raping an 18-year-old woman he supervised at a Rutland restaurant, court records show.
He successfully completed the state's sex offender treatment program in 2000 and was released from probation in 2006.
The prosecutors said they did not yet have Brooke's autopsy results, and both said much remains to be done.
The investigation began June 25 when Brooke, who lived with her mother in Braintree, disappeared after last being seen in nearby Randolph. The bucolic town of about 5,000 is the business center for rural Orange County and is about 60 miles south of Burlington.
Most of what authorities have said about the investigation is in FBI affidavits supporting the charges against Jacques and against Raymond Gagnon, 40, who is charged with obstructing justice. But the affidavits are gripping. Among the allegations within them:
The Sex Ring
— A 14-year-old girl told police that when she was 9, she was put into a "program for sex" called Breckenridge, that a male relative of hers was to be her "trainer," and that she would be killed if she didn't cooperate. Authorities say the regular assaults continued until a few weeks ago.
— She told authorities that Brooke was to be inducted into the ring on the day she disappeared. E-mails released by investigators indicated the 14-year-old said she would participate in a plan, in the works for at least several days before Brooke vanished, for "the take-down and the tie-up (that) morning."
— Gagnon had sex with the 14-year-old last year and admitted having large amounts of child pornography on his computer, including images of the 14-year-old having sex with a boyfriend. Gagnon, of San Antonio, is Brooke's former stepfather. His lawyer, John Pacht, did not return a call Friday seeking comment on the allegations.
— The affidavits detail sex acts involving bondage and spanking. Jacques is described as having ordered more than $1,000 worth of sexual aids from a Web site, including a machine designed to simulate intercourse. Authorities said Thursday they still weren't sure whether there was a sex ring or it was a ruse Jacques allegedly used to intimidate the girls.
Brooke's Death
Without autopsy results, authorities won't comment on what caused Brooke's death. It thus remains unknown what happened between June 25, when Jacques allegedly took her to his house, and when her body was moved to a shallow grave along a dirt road about a mile away. The body was found Wednesday.
Authorities expressed doubt that state murder charges would be filed anytime soon, saying that the federal prosecution for kidnapping with death resulting might suffice.
Deceiving the Girls
— Authorities said the girls were deceived in several ways. The 14-year-old was led to believe she was getting e-mails from at least three different people about her participation in Breckenridge, when all originated from computers either at Jacques' home or workplace.
— Jacques and the 14-year-old told Brooke the morning of June 25 that she was going to a party.
The Cover-Up
— Authorities say Jacques faked and altered postings to Brooke's MySpace pages in an effort to persuade investigators she had run off with someone she met through the social networking site. The tampering was discovered by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, housed at the Burlington Police Department.
— Authorities say Jacques led them to believe Brooke had lied about wanting to meet a friend and visit the friend's relative in a hospital the morning she disappeared. Investigators said that turned out to be a lie about a lie, and that instead, she ended up back at Jacques' house.
— E-mails released Thursday describe the 14-year-old helping Jacques plant false evidence. He coached her on obtaining and preserving semen from her boyfriend to be placed on a pair of Brooke's underwear to put investigators off the trail, they said. Jacques told police he had found a sneaker belonging to Brooke along a rural road in Brookfield; the panties were placed nearby, so police would find them on their own.
— Gagnon had several lengthy cell phone calls with his Texas housemate and persuaded that man to throw a safe containing child pornography and a laptop computer in a nearby Dumpster, authorities said. They said the safe has not been found.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,376383,00.html
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| LISA
Posted:
Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:53 am |
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Pal in Case of Vermont Girl Regrets Involvement
Friday , July 04, 2008
Associated Press
When Kevin Grosenheider received a call early Monday from his friend, Raymond Gagnon, asking him to dispose of a safe, he decided to help him out.
Grosenheider, who rented a room to Gagnon in San Antonio, said he had no idea what was inside, only assuming it was something Gagnon didn't want released. The next day, the FBI showed up and interviewed Grosenheider.
"Rather than do the smart thing — which would've been nothing — I did as he had asked," Grosenheider told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday. "I was just doing a friend a favor. And for that I have spent easily over 24 hours hand-in-hand with multiple FBI agents. I don't want to do that again."
Gagnon, 40, who was in Vermont being questioned by authorities, faces obstruction of justice charges in the disappearance of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett, the daughter of his ex-wife, Cassandra Gagnon. An affidavit in federal court in Vermont says Gagnon ackowledged keeping child pornography in his safe.
Police say Gagnon lives in Texas but often visits Vermont.
According to the affidavit, Raymond Gagnon told police he accessed his former stepdaughter's MySpace page from a computer at his San Antonio home after getting login information from the girl's uncle, Michael Jacques.
A 14-year-old girl reported that she last saw Brooke alive walking upstairs with Jacques in his home in Randolph in central Vermont on June 25, according to court papers.
It was the 14-year-old's understanding that Brooke was going to be initiated into a "program for sex" — the same one the teenager had been involved with since she was 9, the papers said.
Since then, Brooke has turned up dead near Jacques' home, prosecutors have charged Jacques with kidnapping her and Gagnon has sat in jail awaiting another hearing Monday.
The affidavit says Gagnon acknowledged that he had downloaded child pornography onto a laptop computer and hard drives he kept in a safe. Gagnon's lawyer did not a return a call Thursday.
Grosenheider, in his late 50s, is quoted in the affidavit as saying he didn't know what was in the safe "but assumed it was child pornography."
That's not how Grosenheider remembered the conversation Thursday.
"They asked me what was in safe; (I said) 'I don't know. I had never seen the safe open,"' he told the AP. "I assumed it was something he didn't want (discovered)."
When asked about the child pornography reference, Grosenheider said, "That's the FBI."
According to the affidavit, Grosenheider told authorities he threw the safe into an apartment complex Dumpster near his home. Authorities said the safe hasn't been found.
Grosenheider, who lives with his fiancee and her 17-year-old daughter, has not been charged with any crime. He said that he has known Gagnon for four years and that Gagnon had been renting the room for about six months.
He said Gagnon was his boss at Avanzar Interior Technologies in San Antonio, which provides seats and other interior parts for vehicles.
"It is a complete shock," Grosenheider said of Gagnon's legal troubles, adding it's as if "there was two different people here." He described Gagnon as considerate, nice and intelligent, although he was a messy tenant, leaving clothes and other items around the house. Grosenheider said he would often pick up Gagnon's stuff and dump it at his door.
Grosenheider said he knew little about Gagnon's past. He said he met Jacques twice, including once when Jacques showed up at work and the three went to lunch. Later, Gagnon told him that Jacques was his brother-in-law (they married sisters) and had a criminal record.
Jacques is listed in Vermont's sex offender registry. He was convicted of rape and kidnapping in 1993.
"Ray had told me about his prior incarcerations, and I'm like ... what are you doing even talking to this guy?"' Grosenheider said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,376588,00.html
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