Sex Ring? Ray Gagnon, Step Father of Missing Brooke Bennett is Arrested & Accused of Destroying Evidence in Connection of Disappearance of Brooke Bennett

Coincidenses are starting to turn into a pattern of sick and twisted behavior in the case of missing 12 year old Brooke Bennett. Has a case of a missing girl turned into the discover of a sex ring?

The case of missing 12 year old Brooke Bennett just got even more bizarre as 40 year old Ray Gagnon was arrested by police. Ray Gagnon is being accused of obstruction of justice and is accused of destroying evidence in connection with the investigation into the disappearance of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett. Gagnon, who has family in Vermont, was arrested Monday night and was expected to be charged with sexually assaulting a minor last year in the Royalton area. However, his arraignment was canceled and federal authorities took over his case.

Now two people close to Brooke Bennett have been arrested on unrelated charges, as the investigation into her disappearance seems to be picking up steam.

Authorities say 40-year-old Ray Gagnon of San Antonio, Texas, is set to appear Wednesday in federal court in Burlington to answer a charge of obstruction of justice. Gagnon is accused of destroying evidence in connection with the probe into the disappearance of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett.

On Monday Brooke’s uncle, 42-year-old Michael Jacques was arraigned on an aggravated sexual assault charge.

Gagnon is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Wednesday in Burlington, VT.

Earlier this week, the 42 year old uncle of Brooke Bennett, Michael Jacques, was arrested on an unrelated sexual assault against another minor. However, police consider Michael Jacques a “person of interest” in the disappearance of Brooke Bennett. Read the affidavit HERE against Michael Jacques and the charges against him. (Warning: This document contains graphic and explicit content not suitable for children.)

Michael Jacques

While Brooke Bennett’s uncle, Michael Jacques, is charged in an unrelated child sex case, police are now calling him a “person of interest” in the disappearance of Brooke. State and federal investigators searched his home Monday.

Vermont State Police say it’s too early to know whether Brooke was part of the“Breckenridge” sex ring that led to the charges against Jacques. But they say their investigation into Jacques drastically shifted the focus of their investigation into Brooke’s disappearance.

Former Stepfather Implicated in Disappearance

The arrest of Ray Gagnon, 40, is a “byproduct” of the search for 12-year-old Brooke Bennett

Baker said Gagnon is suspected of sexually assaulting another child in 2007. He would not provide details.

Federal agents are preparing to also charge Gagnon, of San Antonio, with obstruction of justice for destroying evidence in the Brooke Bennett investigation, FBI Special Agent John Pikus said. 

Police said Gagnon’s arrest stemmed from the investigation of the missing girl’s uncle, Michael Jacques, 42, who has been charged for his alleged role in a sex ring known as “Breckenridge,” CNN affiliate WPTZ reported. The charge against Jacques, a registered sex offender in Vermont, does not involve his niece.