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October 12, 2008 9:24:29 PM CDT

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Missing Vermont Girl Found Dead

Posted Jul 3, 08 7:21 AM CDT in Crime & Courts 

(Newser) – Vermont authorities found the body of a missing 12-year-old girl in a fresh grave yesterday, CNN reports. Brooke Bennett’s death “appears to be foul play,” said police, who arrested her uncle and stepfather on separate sexual assault charges. Bennett’s uncle, Michael Jacques, initiated her into a sex ring the day she disappeared, another girl told police. The other girl, now 14, said in an affidavit that she had been having sex with Jacques since she was 9.

Police said Jacques, a convicted sex offender, will face federal kidnapping charges. The dead girl's former stepfather, who also admitted to having sex with the 14-year-old, was charged yesterday with obstructing justice after he altered Bennett's MySpace page to make it appear that she had discussed a secret rendezvous with someone she met online. The posting was written to suggest that Bennett "was abducted by someone she met on the Internet," the affidavit states.

Sources CNN, Associated Press

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  • Vt. Girl's Death a Homicide: Investigators

    Jul 8, 08 9:40 AM CDT
    Vt. Girl's Death a Homicide: Investigators The death of a 12-year-old Vermont girl was murder, prosecutors said yesterday, and her uncle may face the death penalty under federal kidnapping laws. A judge ordered Brooke Bennett’s uncle, who has not been charged with kidnapping but not murder, held without bail after Bennett’s body was found near his home, the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports. More »

Brooke Bennett's uncle, Michael Jacques, was arrested Sunday on a charge of sexually assaulting another child. Information gathered in a search of his home led police to the gravesite.   (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Police found Brooke Bennett's body in a fresh grave yesterday and believe her uncle forced her into a child sex ring,   (AP Photo/Vermont State Police)
Michael Jacques, the uncle of a missing 12-year-old girl, was arrested earlier this week on unrelated sex charges, police said.   (AP Photo/Vermont State Police)
Vermont State Police Col. James Baker announces they have found a body they believe is 12-year-old Brooke Bennett who has been missing since June 25, 2008 in Bethel, Vt., Wednesday, July 2, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Michael Stephen Jacques, 42, of Randolph Center appears Monday, June 30, 2008 in Chelsea District Court in Chelsea, Vt. for his arraignment for aggravated sexual assault on a minor.   (AP Photo/Pool, Times Argus, Stefan Hard)
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child pornography  • missing child  • sexual assault  • child molestation  • Burlington, Vermont


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