Brooke Bennett
Yesterday, the Vermont State Police discovered the body of twelve-year-old Brooke Bennett, buried in a shallow grave near her uncle’s home. Evidence uncovered in the uncle’s home led police to her body. The uncle, Michael Jacques, is presently being held in jail on unrelated charges of sexual assault on another minor girl. He is officially a “person of interest” in Brooke Bennett’s death
All of Vermont is in a state of shock at this moment. This sort of thing happens so rarely here, that when it does, we who live here are always stunned at the sudden realization that the cold, cruel world that exists outside of our borders does, on occasion, creep in here. Visitors come here, and they see our pristine mountains, the deep green color that dominates the landscape, and the first word that comes to mind is, “Peaceful.” Vermont is the epitome of the word “idyllic.”
We Vermonters just aren’t used to this kind of crime. In 1976, there were a total of twenty-six murders in Vermont. That was the highest number that I could find. In 2006, the last year that I could find, there were twelve. In the entire state.
Vermont has been taking some bad press because of its “less than tough stance” with sexual offender laws. And I suppose that in some ways, when compared to the more draconian laws of other states, this might be true. I’m not going to claim to have any answers here, because I don’t have them. Michael Jacques, Bennett’s uncle, is a registered sex offender. It would appear that somehow, this guy slipped through the cracks, because the Vermont Sex Offender Registry web site does not list him as being a “high risk” offender. And now, he’s going to become one of those poster children that you see: The violent sexual offender who gets out of prison and then goes on to kidnap and murder another victim. The case will be used to push for tougher laws. And it’s very likely the laws here will become tougher.
Why does this disturb me? Well, Michael Jacques is one of the rarities when it comes to sex offenders. I know, I know – we all hear about those monsters who re-offend, killing someone in the process. But those are the rare ones, believe it or not. They make the news, because they have good shock value, and good “entertainment” value. The ones we don’t hear about are those who commit a crime, go to prison, are treated, released, and never commit a crime again. They are the vast majority. And they’ll become victims of this crime, every bit as much as Brooke was.
With all due respect, I have a question for Brooke’s mother. While my heart goes out to her, in so many ways about this, I have to wonder: What on earth was she thinking? Why on earth was this child ever allowed to be alone with Jacques in the first place? I understand that the man is her uncle, but in my mind, that’s even more reason that he should not have been left alone with her. The vast majority of sexual offenses against children are not committed by strangers. They are perpetrated by a close friend or family member. Brooke’s mother knew of his conviction for aggravated sexual assault. She knew that he’s a registered sex offender. What was she thinking?
In the end, though, this comes down to Brooke. A beautiful young girl, whose life was taken before it had a chance to really even begin. I can’t even imagine what she suffered in her last hours. But I also believe, in my heart of hearts, that Brooke has found some peace.
Rest in Peace, Brooke. Know that you are missed, and that you’re loved, by everyone here who has heard of your plight. As horrific as your last hours must have been, I believe that you are in a better place.
I have to believe this.
If I don’t, then I’ll lose all hope for every one of us…
I agree with a lot of what you said. BUT…..sex offenders, especially pedophiles, simply aren’t treatable. Once a pedophile, always a pedophile. From what I’ve researched, most of them will even tell you so.
Jessica’s Law, or something similar, would not have made a difference in Brooke Bennett’s case (as I’m sure you already know), because Micheal Jacques had never been convicted of a sex offense against a child (that’s not to say he didn’t commit them, apparently he did, and family members kept the victim from testifying). But he was indeed treated as a sex offender, and was, as best I can figure, participating in treatment while he was molesting his minor niece. So clearly, in his case, the treatment did not work. Could tougher laws save another child? Probably.
As to Brooke’s mom, I totally agree. It was a known fact that Michael Jacques was a sex offender, and why on earth she was allowing her daughter to be anywhere close to him is beyond me. In my eyes, she basically sacrificed her daughter. And there’s no excuse for that.
I have to disagree with you about the effectiveness of treatment. There are numerous studies which show that treated sex offenders have a very, very low rate of recidivism – lower than almost any other group of criminal offenders.