Body of 12 Year Old Brooke Bennett Found Dead Near the Home of Her Uncle Michael Jacques

There is sad news tonight out of the state of Vermont. The body of 12 year old Brooke Bennett was found dead at approximately 4:45 EDT. The police called the death “clearly suspicious” but declined to give details before a planned briefing Thursday morning. The body of a missing 12 year old Brooke Bennett was found hours after documents surfaced that accused her uncle of planning to initiate her into a child sex ring.

Earlier Wednesday, in an affidavit unsealed in U.S. District Court in Burlington, the FBI said an unidentified 14-year-old girl told investigators she was present on June 25 when Jacques, 42, tricked Bennett into thinking she was going to a party and took her to his Randolph home to be initiated into a sex ring.

The girl said she was led to believe the 12-year-old “would have sex with adult males” during the initiation.

The teenager said she and Bennett watched television for a while before Jacques told her to leave and took his niece upstairs. The witness said she left the house with her boyfriend and didn’t see Bennett again.

Rest in peace Brooke, from all that we have heard with arrests and sick behavior in this family … Brooke is finally at peace and safe.

BETHEL, Vt. – The body of a missing 12-year-old whose uncle allegedly planned to force her into a sex ring the day she disappeared was found Wednesday in Randolph, not far from his house.

State Police Director Col. James Baker said Brooke Bennett’s body was found about 4:45 p.m. and her family had been notified.

The uncle, Michael Jacques, has been in custody since Sunday on charges of aggravated sexual assault against a different underage girl. He has pleaded not guilty.

Brooke Bennett’s body was found a few miles from the home of her uncle, Michael Jacques who was arrested on June 29, 2008 and charged with the sexual assault of another minor. Michael Jacques was the last person seen with Brooke Bennett on June 25 prior to her disappearance.

According to an affidavit, Michael Jacques planned to force Brooke into a sex ring.

As we have always said, once a sex offender … always a sex offender and there is no such thing as a one time rapist.

Court Papers: Uncle Brought Brooke Home for Sex

This is the same uncle that the State of Vermont had previously arrested for sexual assault on a minor and was a registered sex offender. But some how in Vermont’s infinite wisdom, he was un-supervised. When will people learn that sex offenders cannot be cured. Well, there is one cure.

New information revealed in court papers indicates her uncle did not leave her there. According to the juvenile who was with them, they took Brooke to Jacques’ Randolph home. They told her she was going to a party, but the juvenile told police she was actually being taken into a secret program called “Breckenridge,” where she’d be having sex with adult males– just as the other juvenile had been doing for the past five years, with Jacques as her “trainer.” That juvenile left the house after Jacques took Brooke upstairs — and never saw her again.

The story that Brooke may have been meeting someone she met on the online networking site MySpace– police say Jacques made that up. He showed police a posting made sometime after midnight June 25– the day she disappeared.

Missing Vermont girl found dead

UPDATE I: More than 300 people are gathered to mourn Brooke

About 300 people gathered Wednesday night to mourn the death of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett, whose body was found near her uncle’s home a week after she had disappeared.

The gathering was originally organized as a candlelight vigil for Brooke’s safe return. Authorities found her dead about 4:45 p.m.

At the gathering, people hugged each other around the town gazebo, lit candles and sang “Amazing Grace.”

“We must realize in our community, oh God, that we are not this horrible act, that this horrible act happened to this community,” said the Rev. Robin Junker, associate pastor of the Bethany United Church of Christ in Randolph. “Bennett

UPDATE II: MySpace page used in cover-up

Police say Gagnon, 40, lives in Texas but often visited Vermont. According to the affidavit, he told police he accessed Brooke’s MySpace page from a laptop computer at his home in San Antonio after getting login information from Jacques.

Police said they have evidence that postings to the account were altered to make it appear that Brooke had discussed a secret rendezvous with someone identified as “Skittlemeup” shortly before she disappeared.

Gagnon also told police he had downloaded child pornography onto the laptop, according to the affidavit.

Authorities said Gagnon was on a regular visit to Vermont from Texas when he was arrested Monday.