Brooke Bennett, 12 yrs. old Randolph, VT #5

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SeriouslySearching said:
I am going to defend her Bio father, Jim, here. He was never married to her mother. They were totally split up by the time Brooke was 16 mos. old. We don't know about the legal agreement they had between them concerning his rights or if they had one at all. He stayed in her life and tried to protect her while he had her under his roof, but he was in no position to dictate to the mom what happened at her home without proof. He did express his concerns many times, but the mother failed to protect her and willingly put Brooke in the care of MJ on a regular basis. While he should have taken further action against the mother in hindsight, if he had lost in court to win custody...he may have lost his daughter to that horrid family then because of the secrets they were hiding. The mother could have simply moved to TX and out of his reach for visits.

The best thing in Brooke's life is her father, step-mother, and half-siblings.
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Don't forget that the Dad was in Iraq for awhile as well. Hard to fight for custody if you're in a war.
 
Gee when asked her natural father didn't seem at all bothered by the pervert uncle being around Brooke, he said that "it was a long time ago" that he molested the girls. Geez is he that stupid that he would let her go and be with this perverted piece of garbage. He admitted that he knew about the uncle.
 
Nugrandma1 said:
Gee when asked her natural father didn't seem at all bothered by the pervert uncle being around Brooke, he said that "it was a long time ago" that he molested the girls. Geez is he that stupid that he would let her go and be with this perverted piece of garbage. He admitted that he knew about the uncle.
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Nu..yes, he did say that, but I think it was the mother's response to his objections even if he didn't make it clear in his statement, imo. Obviously, you have never been involved in a custody case. You sometimes see one parent who does drugs and wheels men in by the dozen...yet a Judge leaves the child there.

Jim and Janet did question Brooke about MJ on several occassions and she denied anything was going on. They left the door open for her to tell them anything and everything. Brooke never mentioned it.
 
Nugrandma1 said:
Gee when asked her natural father didn't seem at all bothered by the pervert uncle being around Brooke, he said that "it was a long time ago" that he molested the girls. Geez is he that stupid that he would let her go and be with this perverted piece of garbage. He admitted that he knew about the uncle.
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To be fair, MJ wasn't convicted of "molesting girls". The girl he kidnapped and raped was 18. That's how he got added to the registered sex offender list. I don't know how much JB knew about what MJ was convicted of. But, just the fact that he was a RSO should have been enough to raise Holy hell over Brooke being around him. Sounds like he voiced concerns to Cassandra and decided "it wasn't an issue".....well, yes, it was an ISSUE!

(I just noticed your nic....me too! Isn't it wonderful?)
 
SeriouslySearching said:
I am going to defend her Bio father, Jim, here. He was never married to her mother. They were totally split up by the time Brooke was 16 mos. old. We don't know about the legal agreement they had between them concerning his rights or if they had one at all. He stayed in her life and tried to protect her while he had her under his roof, but he was in no position to dictate to the mom what happened at her home without proof. He did express his concerns many times, but the mother failed to protect her and willingly put Brooke in the care of MJ on a regular basis. While he should have taken further action against the mother in hindsight, if he had lost in court to win custody...he may have lost his daughter to that horrid family then because of the secrets they were hiding. The mother could have simply moved to TX and out of his reach for visits.

The best thing in Brooke's life is her father, step-mother, and half-siblings.
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I'm going to disagree on part of this (sorry) but Jim could have at least got a court order that she was not allowed to go to Uncles house to visit cousins, they had to come to her house due to MJ's history. He would have won that. Of course, not knowing that Gagnon was a problem there wasn't much he could do regarding him.

( has anyone found out a history for Gagnon, RSO or whatever?)
 
If a child were 12 yo and had gone through that type of abuse, the child would have matured way beyond their years, imo. You can't use chronological age in such instances.
 
SeriouslySearching said:
I read very early on that Jim is also a "constable". Is there any truth to that?
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I didn't really know what a constable is, I I wikied it... it had guidelines by state.

Vermont
Constables are generally elected by the town. They are charged with service of process; the destruction of unlicensed or dangerous dogs or wolf-hybrids, and of injured deer; removal of disorderly people from town meetings; collection of taxes, when no tax collector is elected; and other duties. Constables have full law enforcement authority unless the town votes to either remove the authority or require training before such authority is exercised. Cities and villages may also have constables. Their duties and method of selection are governed by the corporation's charter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constable

I remember hearing that he was a constable as well, judging by the definition given by Wikipedia (not the most reliable source, I know), it has a pretty broad job description. It doesn't seem Mr. Bennett would have had much of an inside track into the law enforcement of the city.
 
swanniee11 said:
I'm going to disagree on part of this (sorry) but Jim could have at least got a court order that she was not allowed to go to Uncles house to visit cousins, they had to come to her house due to MJ's history. He would have won that. Of course, not knowing that Gagnon was a problem there wasn't much he could do regarding him.

( has anyone found out a history for Gagnon, RSO or whatever?)
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Yes, he probably could have. It wouldn't have been worth the paper it was printed on if the family packed up and moved to TX, would it? If you think a piece of paper would have stopped MJ and Ray from sexually abusing children, you are mistaken. They would have taken off with all the girls and gone somewhere else. The search for Brooke would have started much earlier and been across the US without much hope of tracking them down.
 
Nugrandma1 said:
Gee when asked her natural father didn't seem at all bothered by the pervert uncle being around Brooke, he said that "it was a long time ago" that he molested the girls. Geez is he that stupid that he would let her go and be with this perverted piece of garbage. He admitted that he knew about the uncle.
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I would also like to express again that Jim was not allowing his child to be there he expressed that he did not want her there at all. He is far from stupid. Things are kept from parents who are not living in the home. Jim is an excellent father.Please srop calling him stupid.
 
Nugrandma1 said:
I agree fran, this family is sick. I don't have any sympathy for them now. They knew the uncle was a pervert and still let him near Brooke and other children shame on them.
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In this day and age, with what is so readily available about sexual abuse and how it's almost of epidemic proportion, you would think that people would be intuned to spotting the signs, if it's happening to someone they know and most especially in their own family. Having said that, I would like to, until we know different, give the family the benefit of the doubt, that they were just naive as to the alleged sexual abuse, so far as has been intimated in this situation.

Being the aunt of a sexually abused child, (this was years and years ago, btw) I had absolutely no clue. But, several years AFTER the abuse had stopped, and because of circumstances at the time, when I found out about the abuse, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. "Of course," I said to myself, "all the signs were there!"

Do I feel badly that I didn't detect something amiss? You betcha'! It brings tears to my eyes to this day. I sooo would have taken that child in a heart beat and saved her from the emotional turmoil she suffers to this day. But, I was naive and didn't have a clue. That is something I have to live with as well as the damage the victim suffers to this very day.

MOST of us reading here are aware that sexual predators rarely change their spots. But, perhaps these people just didn't know. Until I learn otherwise, I'll be mum on that point.

No matter what the outcome of this case, perhaps it will be a lightening board for people who are in a similar situation, a known (previous) sexual predator within their midst, how they do NOT change, and to be intune to the signs of abuse. Perhaps hundreds if not thousands of children will be prevented from suffering this (silent and humiliating) crime.

JMHO
fran

PS.......I am aware we have not heard IF Brooke has been abused or not, but the fact is there is an abused victim here, AR and TWO alleged sexual predators.....fran
 
Brooks Aunt said:
I would also like to express again that Jim was not allowing his child to be there he expressed that he did not want her there at all. He is far from stupid. Things are kept from parents who are not living in the home. Jim is an excellent father.Please srop calling him stupid.
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I don't think Jim was being stupid, he raised his objections to Brooke being with MJ and was unable to control much of what was going on when Brooke was not in his custody. Of course, in hindsight I'm sure there are things he would have done differently. Compared to what Brooke's mother and her family have been expressing, Jim and his wife were probably the most stable things in her life.
 
Does anyone know why they are back at Sunset Lake searching? I thought they cleared that area already? Maybe it is because they have more K-9s, but it is interesting.
 
Brooks Aunt said:
I would also like to express again that Jim was not allowing his child to be there he expressed that he did not want her there at all. He is far from stupid. Things are kept from parents who are not living in the home. Jim is an excellent father.Please srop calling him stupid.
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Brooks Aunt:

I know how difficult this must be for you and your family. You are right, it is hard to be a part time parent and at arms length. Not being in the home at all times with the child, it is understandable much went on without Jim even knowing it. I did see where he and his wife talked to Brooke about this situation, and they thought all was well.

Let's just hope they find Brooke soon, well and happy.

Prayers to you and your family for strength at this time,

:blowkiss:
fran
 
Yes he is a constable not sure what all that involves, from everything I have read he basically says he is an animal control officer and monitors some public event activities.

I know he was in a difficult position with regards to Brooke, however if I was in his shoes I would of moved heaven and earth to make sure my daughter did not spend time with this sex offender. His entire frame of mind of it was a long time ago just doesnt cut it for me. Maybe just maybe had he stood up and fought to protect his daughter she would of felt like someone was in her court, maybe they would of investigaged things then and discovered what was going on with her cousin. To me he is just as guilty of not protecting Brooke as her mother.
SeriouslySearching said:
I read very early on that Jim is also a "constable". Is there any truth to that?
Click to expand...
 
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