Brooke Bennett, 12 yrs. old Randolph, VT #9

[Dante7]

LOL You did a fine job.

Thank you.

Several years ago, an acquaintance "enlightened" a group of us by explaining it and allowing us to ask any questions we wanted. I learned a lot!

quite the eye-opener, huh?

What I once thought was horrific and filled with nut jobs...really wasn't at all like what my mind had envisioned these people to be.

Good to hear. I must admit that for the most part, people I've known who were involved in the scene have been quite pleasant and well-adjusted, with a good sense of ethics. Not at all what one would at first think.

In the context of what the equipment was used for here tho does lend itself to a convenience for MJ to torture and murder.

Sadly so.

Maybe they should put legal restraints on OSRs being able to purchase such equipment.

Possibly so, for things like that. Still, though, one can buy things like swords and other melee weapons without much legal hassle, so it may take some effort to extend restrictions to less overtly dangerous things like BDSM gear.

 

[dark_shadows]

Yes, it is a safe to say that Brooke was tortured.
Along with the equipment like SS stated, there are the emails from Brooke's cousin that state she wants Brooke to suffer.
The cousin lured Brooke to her death. Also, the affidavits show that A.R. was the one who wrote the emails, not someone else. That is why it states in the affidavit at the top of the emails from A.R. "juvenile 1". If the Feds were not certain that it was in fact A.R. that wrote those emails, they would not have put that in the affidavit for defense lawyers to throw out. A.R. was confronted about those emails by LE.
So it is certain that A.R. did write those emails.

Respectfully,
dark_shadows

 

[Carrington]

I'm surprised MJ didn't plot to kill Denise if she was becoming a problem after 5 years of wearing rose colored glasses.
Must have needed her income.....
IMO

 

[Medea]

Welcome to WS, Medea! I agree that her mind was warped and twisted into thinking this was "acceptable" behavior. She didn't back out when she had plenty of time and opportunity to do so. It goes back to being warped tho. She can't be held responsible for her actions in this. She is still only 14 yo and her mind literally is not her own. She relates more to MJ than anyone and was willing to sacrifice everything for his wishes.

Thanks!

It depends on what her actions were. I was willing to give her a total pass on setting up her cousin and lying about it for 4-5 days until I read the emails.

I believe she is still lying and she did not simply leave the house when Brooke politely walked upstairs with Jacques. I don't think this happened. If it was that easy he wouldn't have needed to recruit his step daughter to agree to help tie Brooke up or get somebody else's semen or create an elaborate ruse and false alibi.

It isn't her fault she identifies with Jacques but she's not 9 anymore, she's 14 now. If she helped physically assault/restrain/attack/kill/dispose of Brooke then she must be held responsible. I'm fine with trying her as a juvenile and sending her to a pyschiatric hospital. However, I don't think she will face any charges due to the prolonged abuse no matter what she did.

 

[Dante7]

If he didn't intend to kill her or hold her hostage then why the elaborate set up? Why the fake emails to make it seem she had run away to Texas? Why did they leave the house, go to the convenience store where Jacques makes it a point to talk to the clerk and appear as the concerned adult...if not to get third party corroboration of his alibi? He got the semen in advance of her disappearance as well.

I simply still hold that a possibility exists that her death may have been accidental. That's doesn't discount that what he had planned was horrific, but LE hasn't confirmed either way yet, so that leaves some doubt. Kidnapping does not necessarily indicate intent to murder. I'll gladly change my assessment if evidence to the contrary appears.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I'm surprised MJ didn't plot to kill Denise if she was becoming a problem after 5 years of wearing rose colored glasses.
Must have needed her income.....
IMO

I think if Denise ever tried to divorce him...she would have been dead in a heartbeat.

 

[Carrington]

Medea, I thought she was already given immunity.

 

[Dante7]

However, she volunteered she wanted someone to urinate in her cousin's mouth. This is pretty specific and far beyond the pale. She was given the opportunity to refuse to participate in the take down/tie up, but she says she'll do it anyway. I can't discount that.

True, however, one should, IMHO, take her mental state in to account. Her psyche has been crafted for years by a twisted, sick psychopath and his associate(s?).

 

[Medea]

He may or may not have intended to murder her, he probably didn't intend for her to die so quickly, but I absolutely believe he at a minimum planned to hold her hostage, otherwise there is no point in the runaway story. If he just wants to rape her and terrorize her into keeping quiet, he doesn't need to fake emails. He never intended Brooke was going home, whether that meant keeping her for hours, days, weeks or months, I believe he intended to kill her eventually.

He was going to kill his 18 year old rape victim but she talked him out of it. Lesson learned. He left her alive and went to prison.

 

[Dante7]

I don't think it matters whether she was intentionally murdered or not. The federal charge wording includes, 'kidnapping that results in death,' or something like that.

He's still eligible for the DP.

JMHO
fran

Indeed so. Never meant to imply that I thought he wasn't nor that he didn't deserve any horrible things he gets. IMHO, the DP is far too merciful for this .

Just meant to point out that we don't have all of the facts regarding intent and circumstances yet.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I simply still hold that a possibility exists that her death may have been accidental. That's doesn't discount that what he had planned was horrific, but LE hasn't confirmed either way yet, so that leaves some doubt. Kidnapping does not necessarily indicate intent to murder. I'll gladly change my assessment if evidence to the contrary appears.

For me, the evidence is already there. He could not have kept her for an extended period of time. He planned all along to kill her. The whole set up of her "vanishing" with a stranger plan tells me that he did. She was never meant to be kept alive.

 

[becca]

Just FTR, and I'm only saying this to put things in context 'cause so far as I know this isn't common knowledge.

The extremerestraints site doesn't sell anything illegal, and doesn't seem, from my perusal of it, to condone illegal activity. It's all made for use by consenting adults. The BDSM community (yes, there is one- it's a subculture unto itself, with its own rules and regulations) does not condone anything involving underaged participants or non-consensual activity - the motto is "Safe, consensual and sane" and people who violate these parameters are at the very least ostracized and, if appropriate (ie- illegal activity), reported to the proper authorities. The community polices itself and takes this *very* seriously.

Some people mistake BDSM for clinical sadism. Participants don't actually get off on hurting people- the infliction of pain and such is because the individuals involved enjoy it in that context. Participants who get off on inflicting pain instead of granting or receiving pleasure are violating the rules and, if found out, will be reckoned with and, if necessary, reported to LE. (subcultures who have an undeserved bad rep tend to come down very hard on members who do things that risk validating said undeserved bad rep)

Just wanted to get that out there for some perspective.

Thsi has been a public service announcement.

Thanks for explaining all that . I know people in that culture and after telling one of them about some of the things in this case, she broke down because it involves children. She said she would have nightmares about it.

 

[Leila]

Just getting through the affidavits is tough. I can't imagine how horrible it is to hear all of this in person for LE. I am sure there are many more horror stories that we don't want to know.

At 14 yo and having been abused for so long, I have to believe she needs to be looked at as a victim still even if she went to great lengths to perpetrate the abduction/torture/murder. Shawn Hornbeck is a good example of this. He abducted Ben and helped keep him in hiding, but he is considered a victim not a perp.

I don't doubt that AR did have to participate in many forms of abuse over the years. However, the take down/tying up doesn't sound like part of the sexual assault...but simply part of the plan to control Brooke until the assault could happen.

Sorry, Taxi...but if they had drugged her...they would not have needed to use such tactics. I only wish they had. He wanted to torture her and know she was in pain. :furious:

Shawn Hornbeck is a good example of a victim forced to commit acts he would not have done otherwise. For him, it was self-preservation, and I have no doubt that if Shawn and Ben hadn't been found, Shawn may have been eliminated eventually.......he knew too much.

I wonder if AR is in foster care, or left with her mother, or in some sort of protective custody? At this point, I hope she's not been left with family members as they may blame her for telling authorities what she knew.

LE has to deal with the results of horrific crimes on a regular basis, but child abduction/murder is the worst for them. I have no doubt by LE has been emotionally impacted by this crime.

 

[CarpeDiem]

But how much of that was real, and how much was her saying what she thought others wanted to hear (common for people in such situations)? That's what I wonder.

Me too. And the responses about the sexual activity with the boyfriend. We don't know if it happened like that, or she was just saying things Rauel (MJ) wanted to hear, talking dirty.

 

[Blue_Dolphin308]

Regarding the other juvinile, Although she did help get Brooke back to her uncle's house, I still strongly beleive that she is a victim herself, and although she technically helped her uncle I think a talking to and her realizing what she did, and will have to live with for the rest of her life is enough. I don't think she relized that Brooke was going to be killed.

 

[FlowerChild]

If only more towns and cities here in Vermont were like these two .......

The power of public outcry

There was a sex offender that was to be released to the public from the unit I was working in.

The community of Winooski (a few miles from the facility) was alerted of his pending release. He was going to move in with his mother.

City officials held a meeting to alert the residents of the concern of this high risk offender securing a residence there.
A high risk, untreated sex offender.
Media release;

http://www.winooskipolice.com/Crime Watch/SOMTW.html

The residence were outraged and the media then came to the facility to cover the story.
Here is an article;

http://www.wptz.com/news/5586809/detail.html

So because of the public outcry, it was decided that he would live in a motel room close to the facility.

So, the South Burlington Police Department alerted their community about his release to the community.
He moved into the motel and shortly after, he was told to leave by the owner.
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/NEWS/512220316/1003/NEWS02

He then went to a halfway house in Boston.

He decided to leave there and hopped a bus back here. He violated Federal probation and was arrested when he exited the bus.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ve..._in_prison/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City+Weekl


It took me for ever to peck this post out. (I am a pecker, not a typer)


I just want to point out the power of voices.


Respectfully,
dark_shadows

Speaking out is great, but without creating a safe SOLUTION it just MOVES the problem to someone else's neighborhood....often these creeps end up living a transient or economically disadvantaged area in fleabag hotels that rent by the week/month where NO-ONE knows about their Child SO status and it becomes impossible to properly inform the transient population or to restrict the Child SO from contact with children (who are already endangered by their neglectful or transient family situation). There also is a risk that there will be more parents who are illegal immigrants (non English speaking), prostitues, parolees or who are mentally unstable (or addicts) - and NONE of these people are likely to communicate with LE or report a Child SO had contact with their children. If you are already frightened or fear losing custody of your kids you aren't going to go looking for contact with the authorities. And if a child goes missing - it's also possible that it will not get reported to LE, or if it does, that the case will be given little attention.

Since we cannot (a this time) use the DP or convict the (non murdering) Child SO to LWOP I suggest we not to keep moving these vile creatures around on the fringes of society but permanently remove them from OUR society by requiring lifetime supervised parole in a self supporting (they work inside the property ONLY) closed (restricted) facility/property - a separate society with other adults who choose to reside with them and have NO CHILDREN. No access to uncontrolled internet, or other forbidden items and no contact with children, EVER. Given a choice of say life in prison and being paroled to such a facility/property after serving their sentence I think most would volunteer to go - and they would then be paying for their own lifetime monitoring - and one strike, one broken rule - and since they are on parole - they are OUT, forever - back to prison, that day - with no parole.

What we are doing with monitoring and information and cummunity/public action isn't working - agencies, LE and Parole Officers are overworked and underpaid and are NOT given the monetary and technological resources to supervise Child SO's and protect society. And moving Child SO's "away" (the "not on my street" solution) doesn't do anything but keep them constantly transient, make them harder to monitor and control and force them into situations where the most vulnerable, throw away victims are present in large numbers. What we are doing is not working and it's not protecting ALL of the children. Until there is a CURE (for real, 100%) for pedophelia we MUST demand that convicted Child SO's be removed from our society for LIFE - and in such a way that the financial burden falls on the Child SO him/herself - not US. These people are perfectly cabable of earning a living, they just need to do it in a fully controlled and monitored (24-7-365) environment where no children are endangered. I am tired of supporting these creeps while they sit and fantasize in prison and I want them out of society - ALL society for LIFE.

Just My Opinion

 

[CarpeDiem]

Sorry, Taxi...but if they had drugged her...they would not have needed to use such tactics. I only wish they had. He wanted to torture her and know she was in pain. :furious:

I agree. They had already planned if she fought back, they were going to taser her.

 

[Medea]

She IS a victim, but we don't give passes to teenagers and adults who have had horrible childhoods, been abused when they go on to commit crimes themselves. 14 and 15 year olds are tried as adults all of the time in this country.

I think she did a lot more than just get Brooke to the house, watch TV and then leave. But, I could be wrong. Her story doesn't make much sense though when put side by side with her emails. She's already said she will help 'take down' Brooke. This is the answer Jacque wanted, he manipulated her into it, so why when the time came would he have her walk out and fail to have her 'help' him as he had wanted?

 

[SuziQ]

Me too. And the responses about the sexual activity with the boyfriend. We don't know if it happened like that, or she was just saying things Rauel (MJ) wanted to hear, talking dirty.

The emails regarding getting the DNA seem on the up and up, because they did get the DNA. From AR's own experience, she knew what Brooke was in for when she sent msgs to Brooke telling her a boy liked her. When she invited Brooke to spend the night before. When she lied to Brooke about a party to meet boys. That they had to get up early to set up the party. When she rode in the car with Brooke to the store. When she went and picked Brooke up and rode in the car back to Mj's house. When they sat and watched TV. When MJ asked Brooke to come upstairs.......Brooke KNEW what was going to happen.

 

[Busylady]

A.R. knew Brooke was going to be killed in my opinion. The emails talk about coming up with a plan where no one will ever find her.