The Bizarre Case of Missing 12 Year Old Brooke Bennett … Family Appearance on TV (Michael Jaques, Ray Gagnon)

What is going on in this case? An uncle who is a registered sex offender who has been arrested for a sex crime against another minor. A step father who has also been arrested on charges of obstructing justice and destroying evidence in the case of missing Brooke Bennett.

Watch the CBS Morning Show HERE of Brooke Bennett’s family on the case of 12 year old Brooke Bennett

What exactly did Brooke Bennett’s mother mean when she said … “I am hoping and praying that she was not talking to anybody regularly. I am hoping  that this was something that just came up, that some body out there thought that my daughter would be of interest in some really awful thing …”

WHAT!!!

Transcripts from the Nancy Grace Show from July 1, 2008 covering disappearance of 12 year old Brook Bennett. It appears that Nancy Grace was a bit stunned by some of the comments from the CBS interview as well, let alone the fact that Brooke Bennett’s mother would allow her to be in the presence of a convicted child molester alone.

C. BENNETT: I don`t know a whole lot about that. I am hoping and praying that she was not talking to anybody regularly. I`m hoping that this was something that just came up, that somebody out there thought that my daughter would be of interest in some really awful thing. And I just hope that they bring her home safe.

She likes doing somersaults and cart wheels. I love you, Brooke. I`m not mad. Just want you home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You`re not mad? What do you have to be mad about? I`m mad at you for letting your daughter be alone with a convicted child sex predator. You`re not mad?

You`re seeing video from the “CBS Early Show,” that`s Brooke Bennett`s mom seemingly in shock pleading for the return of her little girl.

I`m stunned, Lillian Glass. I`m stunned.

UPDATE I: FBI: Uncle planned sex ring initation for Brooke Bennett

A missing 12-year-old Braintree girl was to be initiated into a sex program the last day she was seen alive, according to an FBI affidavit released today.

Authorities previously believed Brooke Bennett was dropped off by her uncle at a Randolph convenience store June 25. Instead, the uncle — Michael Jacques, 42 — picked Brooke up at the store, lied to her about taking her to a party, and brought Brooke back to his home to initiate her into a sex club called “Breckenridge.”

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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.

 

Aruban Justice: 2 1/2 Year Jail Sentence for G.W. Anthony who Shot a Man at Havana, Other Goes Free on Lack of Evidence

Aruban justice: different crime, similar results??? 

21 year old G.W. Anthony who shot a man at Havana, received 2½ years in jail while suspect G.J. Raven went free, due to lack of evidence. Interestingly enough, Anthony was convicted due to the fact that he had provided the police several different stories during declarations. Sound familiar? So much for a uniform system of justice applied by the judges in Aruba. If multiple stories in decalarations are the standard for guilt and innocence in Aruba … Joran Van der Sloot, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe would be presently serving time for the disappearance of missing Natalee Holloway. Why was this case different?

The only evidence came from the mouth of Anthony self, but the judge dismissed that, especially because Anthony has given the police several variant declarations.

The prosecutor assumed that Raven had given Anthony the gun and the two tried to disguise the truth by giving contradictory declarations. Raven’s lawyer requested that his client is acquitted because of this. That he had lied in the beginning is because he was afraid. The judge considered it proven that Anthony had shot the victim R.A. Reid

2½ Years for the person that pulled the trigger in Havana
(June, 28 2008 Amigoe)

ORANJESTAD – The 21-year old G.W. Anthony that shot a man at Havana, received 2½ years jail. Suspect G.J. Raven went free, due to lack of evidence.

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Michael Jacques, Uncle of Missing Brooke Bennett Arrested for Sexually Assaulting a Minor

COINCIDENCE?

The case of missing 12 year old Brooke Bennett just got a little for strange, bizarre and complicated. 42 year old Michael Jacques, the uncle of Brooke Bennett, who left her off at a convenience store in Randolph, VT has been arrested in a separate case of sexual assault against a minor. Police are claiming that the sexual assault charge does not involve his niece, Brooke Bennett.

Investigators in Vermont charged the uncle of a missing 12-year-old girl Sunday with sexually assaulting a minor — but they said the charge does not involve his niece.

Police said their investigation into the disappearance of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett uncovered evidence that her uncle had sexually assaulted someone else. They charged Michael Jacques, 42, with aggravated sexual assault against a minor, which carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison. (CNN)

However, there have been so many missing person cases where a “presumed” suspect in the crime is initially arrested for an unrelated crime. According to all accounts, Brooke’s uncle did drop her off in the town of Randolph.  The fact that Brooke Bennett’s uncle is arrested for sexually assaulting a different minor as the case of missing Brooke Bennett is being investigated is certainly eye opening. Could it be more than a mere coincidence?

Michael Stephen Jacques

According to the AP, Michael Jacques is listed on Vermont sex offender registry. He was convicted of sexual assault and kidnapping in 1993. Maybe Vermont may want to change the law that sex offenders are supervised for life!

Sexual Offense Conviction(s) Date of Conviction
AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT 07-12-1993
KIDNAPPING 07-12-1993

Conviction For Aggravated Sexual Assault: No longer supervised for sexual crime

Uncle of missing girl arrested on unrelated sex charge

They say Michael Jacques of Randolph, Vermont, was one of the last people to see Brooke Bennett before she vanished. He dropped the girl off at a convenience store Wednesday. They were seen together on a surveillance video before parting ways.

Jacques has been charged with aggravated sexual assault against a minor and will appear in court Monday. The alleged victim wasn’t Bennett.

• Uncle of missing VT girl arrested on unrelated charges (VIDEO)
• Man Questioned In Disappearance Of Vermont Girl

UPDATE I: Search for Missing Brooke Bennett Turns to Uncle’s (Michael Jacques) Property

The investigation of the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl zeroed in on her uncle Monday, with police searching his home while he was being arraigned on sex charges in an unrelated case, authorities said.

Michael Jacques, a registered sex offender who was one of the last people seen with Brooke Bennett before she vanished, pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated sexual assault and was held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Col. James Baker, the head of the Vermont State Police, called Jacques a “person of interest” in Brooke’s case at a Monday press briefing.

The other girl, a relative of Jacques’, says he assaulted her over a five-year period, beginning when she was 9 years old and ending a few weeks ago, Orange County State’s Attorney Will Porter said.
 

First Ever AMBER ALERT Issued in Vermont for Missing 12 Year Old Brooke Bennett

Vermont’s first ever AMBER ALERT has been issued for missing 12 year old Brooke Bennett, who has been missing since Wednesday, June 25, 2008. It is believed that Brooke Bennett may have been taken by an individual that she met on MySpace. Once again we are presented with a potential missing persons case, or worse, based off of an on-line discussion from MySpace. Police have stated that items of clothing similar to what the girl had been wearing was recovered in Brookfield, VT 10 miles north of Randolph, where she was last seen.

Brooke Bennett just finished seventh grade, is described as 4-foot-11 inches tall, 98 pounds, wearing blue jeans, a pink sweater and white sneakers with pink lettering. She has blue eyes, brown hair with purple highlights and has pierced ears “top and bottom.”

To discuss the case an get updates on the case of missing Brooke Bennett, go to Scared Monkeys Missing Persons forum; Brooke Bennett, Missing 12 year old.

Also updates are available at Missing Exploited.com

Randy and Denim Sylvester Missing in Pasadena, TX … Texas Equusearch Searches for Children

3 year old Denim and 8 year old Randy Sylvester have been missing since June 15, 2008.  The children’s mother reported the children missing at 9:15 p.m. Sunday. The two were last seen playing on a tennis court at their apartment complex that afternoon.

Randy & Denim Sylvester

Their father, Randy Sylvester Sr. is the prime suspect in the children’s disappearance and has been arrested.

Description of Children:

Randy Jr., who is 4-foot-1 and weighs 55 pounds, was wearing a blue-and-orange University of Florida Gators shirt, blue denim shorts and blue-and-white tennis shoes.

Denim is about 2 feet, 5 inches tall and was wearing pink shorts, pink flip-flop sandals and a pink T-shirt with brown trim. Her hair was braided and pulled back in a ponytail.

Sylvester Sr. was seen by a witness taking a black trunk and a blue Protege suitcase from his apartment.

The trunk is a wooden, solid black chest with a red star shape sticker on the top. The chest has numerous scratches and appears to have excessive wear on the outer surfaces. The chest is approximately 18 inches in height, 30 inches in width, and 16 inches in depth.

The second item is a dark blue Protege brand canvas suitcase with black trim that is identical to the one depicted in the attached flyer. It is approximiately 40 inches in height, 20 inches in width, and 18 in depth. The suitcase has two wheels on the lower back and a retractable handle on top.

Officers took the children’s father, Randy Sylvester, in shackles to several locations on Thursday

Pasadena police block park near where children were last seen

Like in so many other cases of missing persons, Texas Equusearch is once again providing a volunteer army of searchers to help find Denim and Randy

The group at the Texas EquuSearch command post on Burke had doubled Thursday as a new contingent of volunteers and new recruits from the local community joined the effort.

At mid-noon, the searchers, divided into teams, listened as they received their assigned groups and routes.

 
With maps in hand, they prepared to spend their second afternoon until sundown combing the area.

Denim and Randy were last seen on June 15, 2008. Denim was last seen wearing a pink t-shirt, pink shorts, and pink flip flops. Randy was last seen wearing a blue and orange t-shirt, jean shorts, and white tennis shoes.

National Center of Missing and Exploited Children

If any one has any information regarding these two objects of interest or the two missing children, please call the Pasadena Police Department at 713-477-1221 or contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

UPDATE I: Sad news … Bodies of missing Pasadena children found dead

The sad but not unexpected news is being reported that the bodies of 3 year old Denim and 8 year old Randy Sylvester have been found deceased. The bodies were found packed in a wooden chest and a suitcase left in a wooded area in southeastern Houston, TX.

HOUSTON (KTRK) — Detectives found the bodies of two missing Pasadena children overnight in a wooden area in southeast Houston.
Detectives brought their father, Randy Sylvester, Sr., to the location near Allendale and Highway 3 on Friday night. In shackles, Sylvester, along with community activist Qaunell X, was speaking with investigators. Then around midnight, the bodies of the two children were found badly burned.

Washington, DC Travel Show, ACTS … June 21-24 … Help Provide Justice for Natalee Holloway

There have been Travel Shows in NYC, Boston, New Orleans, Valley Forge, PA, Miami, St. Charles, MO and more. Where there was a travel show, there was a voice for Natalee. The location is now … Washington, DC.

Help provide “Justice for Natalee” as the ACTS, the Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit, comes to Washington, DC on June 21 – 24, 2008. Do not let unsuspecting tourists forget the perils and what happened to Natalee Holloway 3+ years ago in Aruba. Demand answers of Aruba as to what happened to missing Alabama teen, Natalee Holloway. Demand that justice be done before you will ever spend any more money, No Justice For Natalee Holloway … No Tourism For Aruba.

LISTEN HERE to a powerful message and plea to support the girl and provide “Justice for Natalee”.

Do not forget the power of “freedom of speech” and your right to peaceful protest. Afterall, the tourism gala is in Washington, DC.

Discuss here

Fathers, David Francis and Brian Swanson Share a Heartache Searching for Missing Sons … Jon Francis and Brandon Swanson Missing

On this Father’s Day we share our thoughts and prayers to the fathers of missing children. We especially say a prayer for David Francis and Brian Swanson. Fathers separated by miles and years; however, both belonging to an unwanted parental membership of having lost children.

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Aruba: Natalee Holloway: Deepak & Satish Kalpoe Suing Dr Phil for Defamation … Doesn’t One Have to First have Character?

Can people who knowingly and willfully lie, obstruct justice and bear false witness have the credibility to sue for defamation? Doesn’t one first need character in order to sue for it’s damage? The Kalpoe’s and Aruba have been dancing around the truth in the Natalee Holloway case for 3 years running. The question that needs to be addressed is did either Deepak or Satish Kalpoe have the ability to sue for libel seeing that their reputations were already tarnished prior to the Dr Phil tape. Namely, their reputations were tarnished by their own doing. By the way, why does one wash their car in the middle of the night? A car that Natalee Holloway was last seen in and never was heard from again?

Satish, Deepak and Dr. Phil

The defamation lawsuit filed by the two Surinamese brothers, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, against Dr. Phil McGraw and CBS over a broadcast concerning the disappearance of Natalee Holloway continues to go forward. The first question that one would ask is, how can one claim defamation of charters if they are void of said character? Should the law suit go forward? Probably not; however, I say why not … discovery and interrogatories of the Kalpoe brothers might just be what the doctor ordered to help find answers and “Justice for Natalee”.

A lawsuit filed in December 2006 by Surinamese brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe maintains they were defamed in a Sept. 15, 2005, “Dr. Phil” show, when it was alleged they gave Holloway a date-rape drug and had non- consensual group sex with her. They also contend the episode implied they helped kill Holloway and dispose of her body.

What did they know and when and why did they lie?

The “Dr. Phil” segment included statements by Deepak Kalpoe that were “significantly manipulated and altered,” the suit alleges. In addition to defamation, the Kalpoes’ suit alleges invasion of privacy, emotional distress, fraud, deceit and civil conspiracy.

But in court papers filed Wednesday, attorneys for CBS, McGraw and Kay Skeeters — widow of Jeremy Skeeters, a private investigator hired by McGraw to interview Deepak Kalpoe — maintain the brothers are “libel-proof.”

They say the brothers’ reputations were irreparably stained by prior published accounts of the Holloway case, meaning they cannot claim to have been damaged by the “Dr. Phil” broadcast.

Satish Kalpoe’s June 24, 2005 important and must read statement

Read all of the suspect & witness statements HERE and HERE

What reputation does one have when they continually lie in witness statements and provide constant inconsistencies in their stories?

One needs to ask themselves, what reputation did the Kalpoe’s have prior to the Dr. Phil report other than that of suspects in the murder of Natalee Holloway and admitted liars? The Kalpoe’s were last seen leaving Carlos N’ Charlies with Natalee Holloway along with Joran Van der Sloot, Natalee was never seen again. It was also the Kalpoe’s that were complicit in the lie that they dropped off Natalee Holloway that night at the Holiday Inn and subsequently implicated two black security guards for her disappearance.

The position of the Dr. Phil defense attorneys is as follows:

The brothers also did not ask for a correction of the “Dr. Phil” broadcast in time and are limited public figures, meaning they have to prove malice by CBS and the other defendants, the defense attorneys argue.

The defense attorneys have a motion pending Aug. 5 to dismiss the case on grounds the plaintiffs’ lawyers disobeyed court orders to turn over information.

Aruba: Crime Increased 11.3% Last Year … Youth Crime a Major Concern

What ever happened to Aruba … “One safe island” where no crime ever took place? It would appear that myth has now been put to rest. Aruba may want to revise the following articles regarding the crime rate to unsuspecting tourists. Of course there are other crimes that occur in Aruba that are not referred to in much of any manner. However, the increase in youth crimes make it completely believable that the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway could have been entirely planned and perpetrated by youths.

Since crime in Aruba is relatively low, you can travel with peace of mind

On rare occasions, armed robbery and car theft have occurred. Vehicle leases or rental contracts may not be fully covered by local insurance when a vehicle is stolen or damaged, so make sure you are sufficiently covered when renting cars and jet skis.

The crime discussed by the ALE is referring to youth and gang violence, not petty pick pocketing. Rare? You be the judge. Since 2005 to 2007 there has been an average criminality increase per day of 2.10 crimes. Rare?

According to reports from the ALE, criminality has increased with 11.3 percent last year. Home robberies and youth crime have been targeted as the reason for the increase. Crime is on the increase in Aruba and there appears to be a disturbing trend with youth and crime. Have the youth in Aruba become out of control and feel a sense of invisibility?

Points of concern are the development of the youth criminality and “the growing ease with which firearms are being used”, said chief of police Peter de Witte looking back on last year.

The youth criminality has been raised to priority one this year. “Youth criminality, definitely after the serious incidents of last year, is heavily qualified for the subjective safety feeling.

Thus, the number of crimes has increased last year. The number of crimes committed in 2005 was 5511; in 2006, 5643; and in 2007, 6277

Looking back to 2005 and the Natalee Holloway missing persons case when Aruba became a household name to many for all the wrong reasons, we see that three suspects were named at the time. Was the Natalee Holloway case and her presumed death just one in the many of a trend of youth violence taking place in Aruba? Many people had thought at the time how could 3 young suspects, Joran Van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe, pull such a crime off? With the ever increasing crime rate and Aruba and the ever increasing crime rate among youths, is it really that unbelievable now?

Criminality increased with 11 percent (Amigoe: June 13, 2008)

Looking back on 2007, chief of police Peter de Witte is of the opinion that the shooting incident near Arubus in December of last year, whereby a 19-year old boy shot a police officer and was self shot and killed, is an example of the hardening in the society and especially with the youth.

ORANJESTAD – From the tentative figures of the Police Corps of Aruba it appears that criminality has increased with 11.3 percent last year. This has to do with mainly the sharp rise of the number of robberies, especially in homes. The police are highly satisfied with the approach of the local drug dealings and the use of narcotics; more than 200 kilo cocaine was confiscated last year, double the amount of 2006.

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