Brooke Bennett, 12 years old Randolph VT #19

[SeriouslySearching]

When you stop to think about what really happened here...it is devastating. Her cousin lured her into a death trap which included this sexual deviation from their uncle...both of them trusted him...while uncle talked her cousin into helping trap her with five years of abuse to control her. They killed her after brutally abusing her. How do we deal with it?! I am angry, hurt, then comes emotions I don't know about...mostly how I would like to string him up myself...but know I can't. I can't even imagine how her father must feel. The sorrow and anger that must be inside of him. I applaud him for being there now. I would be so angry...that perp might not be seeing his justice yet again. That doesn't deserve a trial...again.

 

[Busylady]

In reading the emails again, it broke my heart. On one hand we have this 14 yr old girl talking "dirty" and seems so angry, then she says Keep my dad, me and my family safe please.

In my opinion, AR was convinced if she didnt please the Breckenridge group harm would come to her family. For 5 years MJ basically controlled every thought this young girl had by using fear I think. What a horrible thing for her to feel like the safety of her family was all on her shoulders. MJ could of convinced her Brooke was a danger, heck he could of told her that he knew Brooke had told someone about the secret Breckenridge group and the group was blaming her for letting Brooke find out and they were not happy with her, just like he told her that her mom was talking about divorce etc. So she had to fix the "problem" so Breckenridge would be happy with her and her dad, mom, and sister would be safe.

I am sure by now she has been told that the Breckenridge group was all a lie, she may not believe it yet. I pray that she gets the intense counseling she needs, and can begin to heal.

 

[becca]

SS you asked where is the line from victim to perp.... for me it will take alot more than what we know now. She was an abused child for years... she was brainwashed ... but she is a child.... so for now she is still a victim.... one that needs compassion not judgment,therapy not insults, a new town to live in, not be reminded every time she goes to a store 5 yrs from now what happened to her cousin...because of her.... when in reality it is because of her evil step father. The RSO that her mother married and brought home.

 

[marly56]

after reading how violent mj was in the attack of the 18 yr old victim, i shudder to think of abuse ar was subject to. she probably developed some sort of alter-persona in order to survive in such close quarters with that creep....i cant even imagine at a young age living day to day with truama and fear and being stuck there with no one to help stop it.

 

[ShinaLite]

after reading how violent mj was in the attack of the 18 yr old victim, i shudder to think of abuse ar was subject to. she probably developed some sort of alter-persona in order to survive in such close quarters with that creep....i cant even imagine at a young age living day to day with truama and fear and being stuck there with no one to help stop it.

I can imagine hearing he was released after 4 years didn't help with that trauma for that first victim....
thinking in her mind "she told"
and he was there out on the streets possibily coming to take revenge...
I know as a victim of a violent crime and getting that call the person has been released is devestating on ones life...I can almost guarentee she knew he was out there free....and honestly, the fear never ends....
you may heal, it is possible....but you don't forget and you never stop feeling afraid...IMO
Ican't imagine what it's like to actually have to live day to day with them..that's a whole other ballgame..AR SURVIVED....She lived in surivor mode for the last few years.....she's a kid too...who functioned in the best possible way she knew how and maybe it kept her alive....

 

[SeriouslySearching]

SS you asked where is the line from victim to perp.... for me it will take alot more than what we know now. She was an abused child for years... she was brainwashed ... but she is a child.... so for now she is still a victim.... one that needs compassion not judgment,therapy not insults, a new town to live in, not be reminded every time she goes to a store 5 yrs from now what happened to her cousin...because of her.... when in reality it is because of her evil step father. The RSO that her mother married and brought home.

Yes, Becca...but you left out...she led another to literal slaughter. How do you rectify that with a victim? I want so much to feel for her. I know we have to. This is a difficult hurdle for so many, including me. She is an innocent victim to begin with and she grows into HIM. We have to take it into consideration that she is not the person she was born into...at 14 years old...she is not a person anymore that we would know after she had been molded from 9 years old under his jurisdiction. She is like him. We have to divide our emotions. It is difficult.

 

[becca]

after reading how violent mj was in the attack of the 18 yr old victim, i shudder to think of abuse ar was subject to. she probably developed some sort of alter-persona in order to survive in such close quarters with that creep....i cant even imagine at a young age living day to day with truama and fear and being stuck there with no one to help stop it.

My gut reaction is to curl up in a corner somewhere and cry... then I get angry at the RSO and the state that turned him out to do this. Then I get sad for Brooke all over again... then I get angry again.... until he is put on deathrow I think those are my two reactions saddness and anger.
I also have a little hope thrown in there for AR to get all the help she needs to adjust to reality. This child has been through some awful things in 5 yrs. Would any of us have been able to deal with that? Just think about that... anytime we start to throw blame in her direction we need to put ourselves in her shoes. She didn't start this fire, she was used as the fuel for it. The fire was started by the RSO years ago... he took down alot of people in his path.... not jjust Brooke or AR but other family members and even a whole town.

 

[becca]

Yes, Becca...but you left out..she led another to literal slaughter. How do you rectify that with a victim? I want so much to feel for her. I know we have to. This is a difficult hurdle for so many, including me. She is an innocent victim to begin with and she grows into HIM. We have to take it into consideration that she is not the person she was born into...at 14 years old...she is not a person anymore that we would know after she had been molded from 9 years old under his jurisdiction. She is like him. We have to divide our emotions. It is difficult.

We don't know alot of the facts right now. We don't know exactly when her persona changed or if it ever did. All we know is from a couple of emails... she could have typed gibberish and some would still throw blame... we can't step into that blame game if we do then we are no better than the tabloids.... we need understanding first so that we have more information on what kind of mind control MJ used ... we know alot of it was the safety of her family. I know people that would kill if their families were threatened. This is the only way of life she has known for 5 yrs... do we know if she was a happy kid before? have we got any info on that part of her life...Before the RSO? See what I mean about not having all the facts? In order to come to a conclusion we need to know more.
In order to fully understand a crime we must be able to put ourselves in each person involved shoes... that way we see what they see.

 

[ShinaLite]

i would bet AR herself started feeling like a bad person the first time step dad touched her....from that moment on she lost all self worth...
She probably felt guilty from day one because the truth is thats what kids feel when they are molested....they shouldn't...we know this as adults but they do...they feel dirty, ashamed and somehow at fault...
I believe she can heal...I dont think she would be a danger to anyone but herself if she doesnt get help....
But with help i think she can heal and be whole...at what age do we stop giving hope to kids? She's a kid who has a whole other 4/5 ths if not more of life to live....
but who is going to see to it she gets that help? I dont think she should be criminally charged but god somehow there had to be a way that it is made sure she gets help....we definitley are trying to move forward to make sure that RSO never see the light of day but there should also be somekind of movement that mandates that victims get the intensive help they need too....cause you wonder are these parents ( like the mom's in this case) really going to make sure that happens?

Not all but alot of the kids we cry for today will be the people we want to see burned at the stake tomorrow...we cant just put a bandaid on this cancer...we need to treat the disease from all angles...imo

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I cry for Brooke and what everyone lost. I cry for AR and the innocence she lost. However, I am having a hard time forgiving AR. I think that every day that I hear more or that I see she could have changed things...I grow more towards that line of victim/perp. It is a line that is so blurred that we don't know when it is actually crossed...but this case is different...it was like a lamb led to slaughter for me. She had so many opportunities to say, "NO!"...but transcribing all the emails earlier...told me she was more than involved...she wanted this and demanded this to happen to Brooke.

 

[becca]

i would bet AR herself started feeling like a bad person the first time step dad touched her....from that moment on she lost all self worth...
She probably felt guilty from day one because the truth is thats what kids feel when they are molested....they shouldn't...we know this as adults but they do...they feel dirty, ashamed and somehow at fault...
I believe she can heal...I dont think she would be a danger to anyone but herself if she doesnt get help....
But with help i think she can heal and be whole...at what age do we stop giving hope to kids? She's a kid who has a whole other 4/5 ths if not more of life to live....
but who is going to see to it she gets that help? I dont think she should be criminally charged but god somehow there had to be a way that it is made sure she gets help....we definitley are trying to move forward to make sure that RSO never see the light of day but there should also be somekind of movement that mandates that victims get the intensive help they need....
Not all but alot of the kids we cry for today will be the people we want to see burned at the stake tomorrow...we cant just put a bandaid on this cancer...we need to treat the disease from all angles...imo

You are so right. We do need to better take care of the victims. We now OFFER some therapy... no make it a Mandatory thing....
This child deserves so much better than she got ... Brooke deserved better.... Savanna deserves better... they all do... one wrong person in a family took so many ....

 

[becca]

I cry for Brooke and what everyone lost. I cry for AR and the innocence she lost. However, I am having a hard time forgiving AR. I think that every day that I hear more or that I see she could have changed things...I grow more towards that line of victim/perp. It is a line that is so blurred that we don't know when it is actually crossed...but this case is different...it was like a lamb led to slaughter for me. She had so many opportunities to say, "NO!"...but transcribing all the emails earlier...told me she was more than involved...she wanted this and demanded this to happen to Brooke.

What kind of junk was the RSO feeding her about Brooke. Did he make Brooke out to be the one person that could ruin her family. Would Brooke be the one that would take the one thing she still had away? Who knows what kind of trash he was regurgitating to her. He is the vile evil one in this... she is a child that was manipulated into thinking one way and one way only For the good of her family .
We know that SOs are not hardwired right. we don't know if she is , we know nothing about her first 9 yrs... so we can't just throw her under the bus and say she's just as evil... we don't have enough information. We know what LE put out there to get the RSO and the other perp in jail. There is alot missing.

 

[ShinaLite]

I cry for Brooke and what everyone lost. I cry for AR and the innocence she lost. However, I am having a hard time forgiving AR. I think that every day that I hear more or that I see she could have changed things...I grow more towards that line of victim/perp. It is a line that is so blurred that we don't know when it is actually crossed...but this case is different...it was like a lamb led to slaughter for me. She had so many opportunities to say, "NO!"...but transcribing all the emails earlier...told me she was more than involved...she wanted this and demanded this to happen to Brooke.

I really respect your opinion but I have to take note with the part where you say she had so many opprotunities to say NO...
You are speaking and thinking from a totally different place than I think AR was in..Your speaking and thinking as a knowledgable and heathly adult..I dont think she felt she could say NO..MJ made sure of that..
My god she's 14!! A kid who's world of trust is the adults around her...
I know around 14 i started testing my parents but dang I was still scared of coming home with my report card..I cant imagine how it would have been with threats of my mother or sister being murdered...can you only imagine??
How can you say no....I dont believe alot of her emails in the affidavit...about being excited about the farming and how she loved getting *advertiser censored* She was saying what she knew this imaginary group wanted to hear...while probably all the while wanting to graduate so she could get out...i read them and totally see the bs....i totally feel a girl saying what she knows she needs to say to survive and make them happy imo

 

[becca]

i hate to leave a good discussion but baby is back to sleep now and that is where i'm going while I can... I know this is off topic and I'll read the answers later but babies are work... this one is a cranky baby. I can't find alot that this one likes... from his clothes to his formula... 2 months old and he's already acting like a full grown man...

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I recognize what you are saying, but in what she told them...I don't see it at all. She was all for this abduction/torture/murder of her own cousin. She had NO remorse at all that showed in any part of what she wrote. She knew what was going to happen. This is hard for me to excuse as severe abuse now. She had no remorse, no guilt, nothing that would say that she related to Brooke other than she hated her. This is so troubling to me even after abuse.

 

[ShinaLite]

I recognize what you are saying, but in what she told them...I don't see it at all. She was all for this abduction/torture/murder of her own cousin. She had NO remorse at all that showed in any part of what she wrote. She knew what was going to happen. This is hard for me to excuse as severe abuse now. She had no remorse, no guilt, nothing that would say that she related to Brooke other than she hated her. This is so troubling to me even after abuse.

i understand that ...its troubling to me too...but i wonder what she really knew and really felt deep inside...I dont think the answers to that are really in those emails...I definitely feel this girl needs intensive help...I hope she doesn't fall to the side lines....

 

[Busylady]

I understand what you are saying, but you have to remember we do not have all the emails. What did MJ tell AR about Brooke that made AR so angry at Brooke. Did he tell her she had to fix this problem or they were going to kill her mom, dad, and sister? The one email that throws in that the Breckenridge group is not happy with her right now. What where they unhappy about, what were the reprecussion if they remained unhappy with her? What did she have to do to make them happy with her? There are alot of missing pieces.

I recognize what you are saying, but in what she told them...I don't see it at all. She was all for this abduction/torture/murder of her own cousin. She had NO remorse at all that showed in any part of what she wrote. She knew what was going to happen. This is hard for me to excuse as severe abuse now. She had no remorse, no guilt, nothing that would say that she related to Brooke other than she hated her. This is so troubling to me even after abuse.

 

[Starr58]

Lets remember that abuse of any kind is typically generational.

The chances of AR or any other child in this "family" recovering from MJ"s influence and affects of the sexual abuse is dependent on the adults ability and desire to face their own past abuse.

The family from the beginning requested that LE not speak about the "family dynamics" which indicates to me that the family is committed to keeping the "secret of sexual abuse" a secret. We are only as sick as the secrets we keep!!

No family member has spoken out in defense of these children. Not a one!!! IF the adults were willing to acknowledge their own parts in the victimization of these children then I then might have some hope for the children. It doesn't look to me like that has happened, is happening or will happen.

Sadly I don't believe the cycle will be broken in this family therefore Brooke is now in a much better place than if this had not occured. JMO

 

[ShinaLite]

Lets remember that abuse of any kind is typically generational.

The chances of AR or any other child in this "family" recovering from MJ"s influence and affects of the sexual abuse is dependent on the adults ability and desire to face their own past abuse.

The family from the beginning requested that LE not speak about the "family dynamics" which indicates to me that the family is committed to keeping the "secret of sexual abuse" a secret. We are only as sick as the secrets we keep!!

No family member has spoken out in defense of these children. Not a one!!! IF the adults were willing to acknowledge their own parts in the victimization of these children then I then might have some hope for the children. It doesn't look to me like that has happened, is happening or will happen.

Sadly I don't believe the cycle will be broken in this family therefore Brooke is now in a much better place than if this had not occured. JMO

great post and something i was alluding to in one of mine...if those parents arent going to step up where is it as we as a society can???....

it takes a villiage...right??

and if we truly want to see these cycles end shouldnt we hit it from all sides?

mandatory treatment for victims as well..

 

[IMBY]

I've read every thread on this forum related to this case.

LOTS of rampant speculation.

LOTS of presumptions of guilt... and presumptions of innocence.

Often, human beings are pretty selective in what they choose to believe-- or choose NOT to believe, or to even consider as possibilities-- regardless of the evidence. Especially in cases such as these, where there may be a personal, visceral, repugnance involved.

It would seem to me that first and foremost, a "sleuth" must maintain objectivity and consider everything.

Naturally, forming hypotheses* and following leads is what solves cases... however, forming preconceived notions of the behaviors of any of those involved does not lead to answers. Or justice.

Of course, the actual merit of voicing those hypotheses on a public forum is probably debatable. I wouldn't mind seeing a separate thread for that.


* hypothesis- n. :a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation