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.

 

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.
 

Angry Politicians Call SCOTUS Child Rapists Ruling Absurd, Vow to Execute Child Rapists

Who is looking out for the children … obviously not the US Supreme Court.

Earlier this week, the US Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that child rapists cannot be executed stating that such punishment “cruel and unusual” and is unconstitutional. Obviously those that voted in the majority on the SCOTUS must believe that child rape in nor cruel and unusual in its own right. How else could one determine that the punishment against child rape of the death penalty is not proportionate to the crime?

VIDEO

Angry politicians vowed to keep writing laws that condemn child rapists to death, despite a Supreme Court decision saying such punishment is unconstitutional.
 
“Anybody in the country who cares about children should be outraged that we have a Supreme Court that would issue a decision like this,” said Alabama Attorney General Troy King, a Republican. The justices, he said, are “creating a situation where the country is a less safe place to grow up.” (Yahoo News)

A battle seems to be certainly brewing between the SCOTUS and lawmakers. The idea that criminals are granted rights and escape the ultimate punishment is utterly disgusting. The fact that the heinous act of raping a child,  the most innocent among us is not looked upon as murder is absurd. What does the SCOTUS think that the rapist is doing to the child, but murdering their future? Instead, liberal justices make excuses for child rapists.

In his majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote “the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” despite the horrendous nature of the crime.

Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called the ruling “incredibly absurd,” “a clear abuse of judicial authority” and said officials will “evaluate ways to amend our statute to maintain death as a penalty for this horrific crime.”

WTF!!! Mass Couple, Kendra D’Andrea & Willie Jordan Plead Guilty to Posting Pornographic Pics of 8 Year Old Daughter

What is this world coming to? Some stories just defy all human decency. How could a mother do this to her child? Kendra D’Andrea and her boyfriend Willie Jordan both pleaded guilty to federal charges for posting pornographic pics of the woman’s 8 year old daughter on the internet. The couple, D’Andrea and Jordan, still face state charges of rape and distributing obscene materials. There is no book large enough that can be thrown at them by the justice system.

Jordan is scheduled to be sentenced July 10 and D’Andrea is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 23. They face a maximum of 30 years in prison.

The couple still face state charges of rape and distributing obscene materials.

D’Andrea was arrested in December 2004 after state child welfare officials received an anonymous tip that a girl was being abused. Jordan, a trucker, was arrested later in Michigan.

Gloucester couple plead guilty to federal charges of exploiting daughter

According to police, D’Andrea confessed that night to sexually abusing and taking nude photos of her daughter with a cell phone camera and posting them online so Jordan could view them while he was on the road. The alleged victim and her 3-year-old sister were taken into protective custody by the Department of Social Services after D’Andrea’s arrest and then placed in foster care.

Finally Camera Phone Used for the Right Reasons … 11 Year Old Girl Snapped Photo of Abductor Mohammed Al Hamdani

Quick thinking by an 11 year old girl takes a bite out of potential child crime.

There have been so many stories of how teenager have been irresponsible in the use of their camera cell phones in sending inappropriate pics to others over the internet. Finally, a cell phone with picture capability is used for the right reasons and has potentially taken a predator off the streets.

An 11-year-old girl took a photo of a man, Mohammed Al Hamdani, with her cell phone who was allegedly trying to abduct her at Bible Park in southeast Denver, CO. The 11 year old girl took the picture of her potential abductor approached her at the park and asked her to get in his car. 39 year old Mohammed Al Hamdani has since been taken into custody and arrested.

The 11-year-old girl told police a man approached her at the park and asked her to get in his car.

She said no, snapped a picture of the man with her cell phone and ran away from him, according to the TV station.

The girl turned the cell phone image over to police, who distributed the man’s photo to the public.

UPDATE I: Girl’s phone photo leads to arrest

UPDATE II: Hearing set in child predator case
Use of camera by girl, 11, raises safety concerns 

Some are questioning the child’s tactics of taking the picture first and not running away immediately. Personally, for as fast as one can take a cell phone photo, take the picture first and run. The result of this girls quick actions is that a child predator is off the streets. This 11 year old didn’t just save herself, she saved countless potential victims. She should be praised.

While some officials have lauded the girl’s pluck and quick thinking in the Saturday incident, others have questioned whether her impromptu photography was the right tactic to take.

“It’s way better to run – you don’t stop to take a picture,” said Peggy Rudden, executive director of the regional office of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which works with abused and neglected children.

“You scream and make as much racket as you can,” added Rudden. “But mostly you run as fast as you can.”