ashbeeigh
06-30-2008, 10:43 AM
(CNN) -- Investigators in Vermont charged the uncle of a missing 12-year-old girl Sunday with sexually assaulting a minor -- but they said the charge does not involve his niece.
Brooke Bennett of Vermont has been missing since Wednesday.
Police said their investigation into the disappearance of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett uncovered evidence that her uncle had sexually assaulted someone else. They charged Michael Jacques, 42, with aggravated sexual assault against a minor, which carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
Brooke remains missing.
She was communicating with someone on MySpace.com, the online social networking site, before she disappeared, police said. Investigators have been reviewing a computer she used for clues to her whereabouts.
Her disappearance triggered the first Amber Alert ever issued in Vermont, authorities said.
On Sunday afternoon, the case took a strange turn when authorities arrested her uncle.
"The details that led to Jacques' arrest were uncovered by investigators assigned to investigate the disappearance of Brooke Bennett," according to a statement the Vermont State Police released Sunday.
Brooke disappeared on Wednesday, investigators said, after visiting a convenience store in Randolph, Vermont. A few days later, police said they found articles of clothing that they believe belonged to her.
Her father, James Bennett, has pleaded for information about his daughter.
"Obviously I'm upset," he told WCAX-TV, a CNN affiliate. "We just want her home. We want her back."
Police have said they do not know whether Brooke left voluntarily with someone. They have scheduled a news conference for Monday afternoon to discuss the case.
Jacques, meanwhile, is scheduled to appear in Orange County District Court in Chelsea, Vermont, at 1 p.m. Monday.
This saddens me. Brooke was one of those girls that has a MySpace and the suspected her of running away to meet someone from there, turns out she may have just been hurt by her sex offender uncle.
I heard about this before the case even made it to CNN/MSNBC/Fox News because we got a Missing Child fax from the Endangered Child thing saying she was headed to the Texas area (yeah right). But, anyway....
Brooke Bennett of Vermont has been missing since Wednesday.
Police said their investigation into the disappearance of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett uncovered evidence that her uncle had sexually assaulted someone else. They charged Michael Jacques, 42, with aggravated sexual assault against a minor, which carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
Brooke remains missing.
She was communicating with someone on MySpace.com, the online social networking site, before she disappeared, police said. Investigators have been reviewing a computer she used for clues to her whereabouts.
Her disappearance triggered the first Amber Alert ever issued in Vermont, authorities said.
On Sunday afternoon, the case took a strange turn when authorities arrested her uncle.
"The details that led to Jacques' arrest were uncovered by investigators assigned to investigate the disappearance of Brooke Bennett," according to a statement the Vermont State Police released Sunday.
Brooke disappeared on Wednesday, investigators said, after visiting a convenience store in Randolph, Vermont. A few days later, police said they found articles of clothing that they believe belonged to her.
Her father, James Bennett, has pleaded for information about his daughter.
"Obviously I'm upset," he told WCAX-TV, a CNN affiliate. "We just want her home. We want her back."
Police have said they do not know whether Brooke left voluntarily with someone. They have scheduled a news conference for Monday afternoon to discuss the case.
Jacques, meanwhile, is scheduled to appear in Orange County District Court in Chelsea, Vermont, at 1 p.m. Monday.
This saddens me. Brooke was one of those girls that has a MySpace and the suspected her of running away to meet someone from there, turns out she may have just been hurt by her sex offender uncle.
I heard about this before the case even made it to CNN/MSNBC/Fox News because we got a Missing Child fax from the Endangered Child thing saying she was headed to the Texas area (yeah right). But, anyway....