Brooke’s stepdad seeks deal in porn case

[sarahhod]

Brooke’s stepdad seeks deal in porn case

By Sam Hemingway • Free Press • February 22, 2009


The stepfather of Brooke Bennett, the 12-year-old Braintree girl whose disappearance and slaying last year sparked national attention and stronger sex-offender legislation, wants to settle federal child pornography charges pending against him in two Southern states.

The disclosure of the potential plea deal was included in papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Antonio Texas, by lawyers for Raymond Gagnon requesting a delay in his trial on four child pornography charges, set to begin March 2, so work on the plea deal could continue.
http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-e4m3Yko6bFYVc.gif?labels=NewsAndReference,CultureA ndSociety
"The parties continue to negotiate a resolution of the case involving multiple federal districts," Gagnon’s Feb. 13 request for the delay said. On Friday, the presiding federal judge in the case issued an order agreeing to put off Gagnon’s trial until April 20.

Gagnon’s court-appointed attorney in Texas, Kurt May, did not respond to a request for comment, but federal prosecutors in both Texas and Alabama, where Gagnon is facing two child pornography counts, confirmed that discussions on a plea deal are ongoing.

"He wanted to have more time to see if he could wrap everything up," Tracy Braun, an assistant U.S. attorney in San Antonio, said of Gagnon. "I can’t imagine this is going to take very long."

Mary Stuart Burrell, an assistant U.S. attorney in Huntsville, Ala., agreed. "That’s my understanding of what’s going on," she said.

Gagnon’s child pornography charges stem from information gathered by police during the massive investigation into Brooke’s death. Her body was found July 2 covered with dirt in the woods a mile south of the home of her uncle Michael Jacques, in East Randolph.

Jacques is facing federal charges in Vermont that he kidnapped, drugged, raped and strangled Brooke after luring her to his home June 25. Police found evidence Jacques plotted his niece’s kidnapping a month in advance and made it look like she had run away to rendezvous with someone she had met on the Internet.

Gagnon, who was divorced from Brooke’s mother, traveled to Vermont in late June after learning from Jacques that Brooke was missing. Police said Jacques talked with Gagnon by telephone several times the night Brooke was initially reported missing.

Gagnon, a resident of San Antonio, was arrested while in Vermont on state charges that he and Jacques had engaged in a simultaneous sex act with a minor in 2007 in South Royalton.

Those charges were set aside when federal prosecutors charged him with obstruction of justice after he allegedly called a friend in San Antonio and asked him to get rid of a computer that contained a collection of child pornography.

The Alabama case against Gagnon emerged after investigators there, acting on a tip, went to a home Gagnon owned in Cullman, Ala., and found child pornography stored on two computers.

According to court papers, Gagnon passed through Alabama in late June while on his way to Vermont and a neighbor saw him "enter his home with computers." Police said when they examined the computers they found a number of images involving minors performing various sex acts.

A superceding indictment unsealed in San Antonio in October contained new charges that Gagnon also engaged in, produced and transported child pornography over a four-year period, between 2003 and 2007.

U.S. Attorney Tom Anderson said late last week he was not a party to the plea deal discussion going on in Texas and Alabama.

Gagnon’s Vermont charges were dismissed after he was indicted in Texas. He has been in federal custody since his July arrest in Vermont and was transferred to Texas authorities in October.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090222/NEWS/90222003

[sarahhod]

He should get the deal Brooke got. IMO

[TigressPen]

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a.../NEWS/90222003

*snipped*
Gagnon’s Vermont charges were dismissed after he was indicted in Texas. He has been in federal custody since his July arrest in Vermont and was transferred to Texas authorities in October.

He raped his stepdaughter over many years, and Brooke before killing her and they dropped those rape charges? Or does this just apply to the porn charges?

[Roamer]

I don't know, but I agree with Sarah.

[Trailblazer]

He should get the deal Brooke got. IMO

Boy that's for sure....it's sickening to think about it...hang him by his you know what...IMO

[awakening2lite]

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a.../NEWS/90222003

*snipped*
Gagnon’s Vermont charges were dismissed after he was indicted in Texas. He has been in federal custody since his July arrest in Vermont and was transferred to Texas authorities in October.

He raped his stepdaughter over many years, and Brooke before killing her and they dropped those rape charges? Or does this just apply to the porn charges?

Jacques is the Uncle by marriage to Brooke's Aunt. He is charged with her murder.

Gagnon was married to Brooke's mother and was Brooke's step father. They divorced IIRC in 2006 and Gagnon resides in Tx.

Gagnon and Jacques were arrested in Vt on charges relating to both of them having sex with a minor. According to the article those charges against Gagnon were dropped after he was charged with obstructing (in the Brooke murder case) in Tx.

Hope that helps.

[Nut44x4]

San Antonio Express-News

April 11, 2009 Saturday

Two former Toyota Tundra contract workers have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a child pornography ring linked to the death of a Vermont girl last summer.

As part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, Raymond Gagnon, 41, on Thursday pleaded guilty to transporting child pornography.

His former landlord, Kevin Grosenheider, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony, meaning not reporting or helping cover up crimes, related to Gagnon.

As part of the plea agreement with Gagnon, authorities dropped charges of producing and possessing child pornography. He still faces those charges in Alabama, where he lived before moving to San Antonio in 2007 to work with Grosenheider for Avanzar Interior Technologies, a Toyota Tundra plant contractor.

Gagnon faces five to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Grosenheider, 58, faces a maximum of three years in prison. According to court records, Grosenheider last July disposed of Gagnon's safe that contained child pornography images before FBI agents arrived at their home.

Attorneys for both men declined to comment.

The FBI began investigating Gagnon last summer after his former stepdaughter, Brooke Bennett, 12, was abducted and found dead in Vermont.

The case sparked national attention after authorities said she was to be inducted into a child sex ring by her uncle, Michael Jacques, on June 24, the day she disappeared.

Jacques was charged with her abduction and possession of child pornography.

Court records said Gagnon helped Jacques change Bennett's MySpace page to throw off authorities after her disappearance.

Before Bennett's death, Gagnon had traded child pornography with Jacques via e-mail, authorities said.

An underage girl who said she had sex with both Gagnon and Jacques last year told authorities Jacques planned to initiate Bennett into a sex ring called Brackenridge, according to court documents.

Court records said Gagnon flew to Vermont around the time of Bennett's disappearance.

After the FBI began questioning Gagnon, he called Grosenheider on June 30 from Vermont and told Grosenheider to throw away a safe because it contained evidence that implicated Gagnon and someone else in the sexual assault of a girl, according to records.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:954822590&start=10

[CSAFD]

Ex-Stepdad in Case of Slain Vermont Girl Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charge
Monday, April 13, 2009


SAN ANTONIO — The former stepfather of a 12-year-old girl who was kidnapped and slain in Vermont last year has pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography.

The plea by Raymond Gagnon was accepted by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in San Antonio on Monday. Gagnon faces from five to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in July.

Authorities had searched Gagnon's home in Texas after his former stepdaughter, Brooke Bennett, disappeared in Vermont last summer. She was found dead a week later. Authorities say she had been drugged and raped.

Her uncle, Michael Jacques, a convicted sex offender, has been charged in the killing. Police said Jacques had called Gagnon several times when the girl was first reported missing.

Gagnon was initially charged with obstruction of justice in Brooke's disappearance and death but federal authorities later dropped the count.

He has lived in San Antonio since 2007, but police in Vermont said he traveled there frequently.

In the plea agreement, Gagnon admitted to having hundreds of images and video files of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sexual acts with adults. Gagnon collected many of the images when he was living in Alabama, before moving to Texas, according to the document.

He faces additional charges of possession of child pornography in Alabama, where he lived before moving to Texas. Monday's plea agreement does not affect those charges.

Gagnon had married Brooke's mother, Cassandra, in 2000, after they moved from Vermont to Alabama. The couple separated in 2004, and Brooke, her sister and mother returned to Vermont. Raymond and Cassandra Gagnon divorced in 2006.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,515198,00.html

[SavannahStar]

We never did get many details in this case, did we? It was so so so sad, I remember how shocking. I don't even recall we got the cause of death, did we?

[CSAFD]

Brooke Bennett, a basketball and lacrosse player who had just finished seventh grade, disappeared June 25 after being seen with her uncle at a local convenience store. She was found dead a week later, buried not far from the home of her uncle, Michael Jacques, who police say drugged, sexually assaulted and killed Bennett by putting a plastic bag over her head.

[sarahhod]

Bennett relative strikes plea deal

Ex-stepfather facing at least five years in prison; Jacques secures pretrial extension

By THATCHER MOATS STAFF WRITER - Published: April 14, 2009


The former stepfather of Brooke Bennett pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography in a plea deal approved Monday by a federal court judge in Texas.

Raymond Gagnon will be sentenced to at least five years in prison during a hearing July 10, according to the agreement, and could get up to 20 years in jail.

The FBI searched Gagnon's home after Bennett, a 12-year-old Braintree resident, disappeared last summer. The search for Bennett and the discovery of her body a week later gripped the state and led Gov. James Douglas and the Vermont Legislature to make sweeping changes to how the state deals with sex offenders.

Bennett's uncle, Michael Jacques, has been charged in her kidnapping, rape and death.

The decision to seek the death penalty for Jacques is pending in the office of Eric Holder, the attorney general of the United States, according to court papers.

The pretrial period in Jacques' case was extended last week at the request of the New Jersey death penalty team that is representing him.

As they argued for more time to prepare their case, Jacques' defense attorneys said the type of evidence against their client is complicated. It spans "areas of forensics in several fields of expertise: computer analysis, pathology, pharmacology, hematology, and other laboratory analyses, among others," they wrote.

"All of this discovery requires a great deal of time to review and analyze ..." they added.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions granted the defense team 120 days to file pretrial motions from the date prosecutors declare whether they will seek the death penalty.

There was no stipulation in Gagnon's plea deal that requires him to testify against Jacques, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Braun, who prosecuted the case in Texas.

"That's up to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Vermont, whether they call him as a witness," said Braun in a telephone interview. "That isn't related to the case down here."

Gagnon was initially charged with obstruction of justice in Bennett's disappearance and death, but federal authorities later dropped the count.

Two other child pornography charges were dropped in exchange for Gagnon's guilty plea to transporting child pornography, Braun said. Gagnon faces additional charges of possession of child pornography in Alabama. The Texas plea agreement does not affect those charges.

Gagnon has lived in San Antonio since April 2007, but police in Vermont said he traveled here frequently.

In the plea agreement, Gagnon admitted to having hundreds of images and video files of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sexual acts with adults. Gagnon collected many of the images when he was living in Alabama, before moving to Texas, according to the document.

Gagnon married Bennett's mother, Cassandra, in 2000, after they moved from Vermont to Alabama. The couple separated in 2004, and Bennett, her sister and mother returned to Vermont. Raymond and Cassandra Gagnon divorced in 2006.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090414/NEWS03/904130271/1004/NEWS03

:45024::mad:

[Lilly]

http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ID=P6j8jXH8_Wr&ZURL=/Michael+Jacques/news&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fus.rd.yahoo.com%2Fdailynews%2Frss %2Fsearch%2F%2522Michael%2BJacques%2522%2FSIG%3D11 jin5vvq%2F*http%253A%2F%2Fwww.wcax.com%2Fglobal%2F story.asp%3Fs%3D10238177

Michael Jacques Brooke Bennett
Local News More>>Police: Middlebury Student Secretly Recorded SexLottery Tickets Lead Cops to Suspected CrookCharlestown Man Sentenced for ViolationsStill no trial date for accused arsonistMissing Wolf-Dog Hybrid RecapturedN.H. Senate Works to Add Amendment to Gay Marriage BillBrattleboro, Vt., gets springtime visit from bearClosing Arguments in Abate TrialDangerous Driver to be SentencedGM Cuts Hit Vermont DealershipsBurlington, Vermont - April 23, 2009

The potential death-penalty trial of Michael Jacques for the murder of his niece, Brooke Bennett, has been delayed again at Jacques' request.

Jacques' request for a four-month delay to file additional pre-trial motions has been granted by Vermont federal judge William Sessions. Prosecutors did not oppose the request. It is the third delay okayed since Jacques was charged with the kidnap, rape and murder of Brooke Bennett ten months ago.

Jacques could face the death penalty IF it is recommended by the Vermont Federal Prosecutor and approved by newly-appointed Attorney General Eric Holder.

The delay means the trial will be on hold until late 2010.

Brian Joyce - WCAX News

Click here for complete coverage of the Brooke Bennett case.

[sarahhod]

Thanks for the update Lilly,

This man makes me :puke:

:madranting94dp::mad::frown:

[Sioux_Girl]

Bennett relative strikes plea deal

Ex-stepfather facing at least five years in prison; Jacques secures pretrial extension

By THATCHER MOATS STAFF WRITER - Published: April 14, 2009


The former stepfather of Brooke Bennett pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography in a plea deal approved Monday by a federal court judge in Texas.

Raymond Gagnon will be sentenced to at least five years in prison during a hearing July 10, according to the agreement, and could get up to 20 years in jail.

The FBI searched Gagnon's home after Bennett, a 12-year-old Braintree resident, disappeared last summer. The search for Bennett and the discovery of her body a week later gripped the state and led Gov. James Douglas and the Vermont Legislature to make sweeping changes to how the state deals with sex offenders.

Bennett's uncle, Michael Jacques, has been charged in her kidnapping, rape and death.

The decision to seek the death penalty for Jacques is pending in the office of Eric Holder, the attorney general of the United States, according to court papers.

The pretrial period in Jacques' case was extended last week at the request of the New Jersey death penalty team that is representing him.

As they argued for more time to prepare their case, Jacques' defense attorneys said the type of evidence against their client is complicated. It spans "areas of forensics in several fields of expertise: computer analysis, pathology, pharmacology, hematology, and other laboratory analyses, among others," they wrote.

"All of this discovery requires a great deal of time to review and analyze ..." they added.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions granted the defense team 120 days to file pretrial motions from the date prosecutors declare whether they will seek the death penalty.

There was no stipulation in Gagnon's plea deal that requires him to testify against Jacques, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Braun, who prosecuted the case in Texas.

"That's up to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Vermont, whether they call him as a witness," said Braun in a telephone interview. "That isn't related to the case down here."

Gagnon was initially charged with obstruction of justice in Bennett's disappearance and death, but federal authorities later dropped the count.

Two other child pornography charges were dropped in exchange for Gagnon's guilty plea to transporting child pornography, Braun said. Gagnon faces additional charges of possession of child pornography in Alabama. The Texas plea agreement does not affect those charges.

Gagnon has lived in San Antonio since April 2007, but police in Vermont said he traveled here frequently.

In the plea agreement, Gagnon admitted to having hundreds of images and video files of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sexual acts with adults. Gagnon collected many of the images when he was living in Alabama, before moving to Texas, according to the document.

Gagnon married Bennett's mother, Cassandra, in 2000, after they moved from Vermont to Alabama. The couple separated in 2004, and Bennett, her sister and mother returned to Vermont. Raymond and Cassandra Gagnon divorced in 2006.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090414/NEWS03/904130271/1004/NEWS03

:45024::mad:

I dont understand - what is the difference between prison and Jail? Here it is the same thing.

[LiveLaughLuv]

Although the terms “jail” and “prison” are sometimes used interchangeably, most members of law enforcement distinguish between the two. Primarily, the difference is that a jail is used by local jurisdictions such as counties and cities to confine people for short periods of time. A prison, or penitentiary, is administered by the state, and is used to house convicted criminals for periods of much longer duration. Both are part of a larger penal system which includes other aspects of criminal justice such as courts, law enforcement, and crime labs.

Because a jail is designed for short time periods only, it tends to have less amenities than a prison. Individuals who are being housed in a jail have access to bathrooms and are provided with food and water, and in a low security jail, they may be able to socialize in common areas during certain periods of the day. Most jails are designed to hold a very small number of criminals, and have relatively lax security when compared to prisons, although in areas prone to violence, a jail may be run along very strict lines. A jail houses people who have been convicted to serve a short sentence, individuals awaiting trial, people who have not yet paid bail, and detainees who have just been picked up on suspicion of committing a crime. The criminals are processed through a booking procedure, and the criminal justice system decides what to do with them after that.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-jail-and-a-prison.htm

More at the link Sioux...

[Sioux_Girl]

Although the terms “jail” and “prison” are sometimes used interchangeably, most members of law enforcement distinguish between the two. Primarily, the difference is that a jail is used by local jurisdictions such as counties and cities to confine people for short periods of time. A prison, or penitentiary, is administered by the state, and is used to house convicted criminals for periods of much longer duration. Both are part of a larger penal system which includes other aspects of criminal justice such as courts, law enforcement, and crime labs.

Because a jail is designed for short time periods only, it tends to have less amenities than a prison. Individuals who are being housed in a jail have access to bathrooms and are provided with food and water, and in a low security jail, they may be able to socialize in common areas during certain periods of the day. Most jails are designed to hold a very small number of criminals, and have relatively lax security when compared to prisons, although in areas prone to violence, a jail may be run along very strict lines. A jail houses people who have been convicted to serve a short sentence, individuals awaiting trial, people who have not yet paid bail, and detainees who have just been picked up on suspicion of committing a crime. The criminals are processed through a booking procedure, and the criminal justice system decides what to do with them after that.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-jail-and-a-prison.htm

More at the link Sioux...

Ok thanks heaps :) so he would serve 5 years in jail and then go to prison? Why not do the whole term in prison? Also another question ( sorry ) in America do the criminals serve the whole sentence or part of it? Ie here if someone was convicted and got say a 10 year sentence with good behaviour he could maybe be out after 3 or 4 years.

[Lilly]

Ok thanks heaps :) so he would serve 5 years in jail and then go to prison? Why not do the whole term in prison? Also another question ( sorry ) in America do the criminals serve the whole sentence or part of it? Ie here if someone was convicted and got say a 10 year sentence with good behaviour he could maybe be out after 3 or 4 years.

If I read the article correctly, he'd serve five years in prison (more security) and then do the rest of his sentence in jail. Not sure though. Yes, criminals get time off for good behavior in the U.S. too. Someone else probably knows more about how it works than I do. I "think" say if you're sentenced to 10 years.. it's ten years with the possibility of parole after a certain amount of time has been served. If that time was 4 years.. the criminal would have a parole hearing after four years and the parole board would decide if he/she has been rehabilitated and is no longer a threat. If he/she has good behavior and has been a model prisoner, the person is allowed to be released on probation for the remainder of the sentence. I think sometimes they might be moved to a lower security facility or into a halfway house before released totally, but I'm not sure of the details.

[Amusedtdth]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,549301,00.html?test=latestnews

SAN ANTONIO — The former stepfather of a murdered 12-year-old Vermont girl was sentenced Friday to more than 16 years in prison on child pornography charges.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez sentenced Raymond Gagnon in San Antonio to 16 years and eight months in federal prison.

Gagnon expressed grief and remorse in accepting the sentence.

Click here to view photos.

The FBI found child pornography while searching Gagnon's San Antonio home after his former stepdaughter, Brooke Bennett, disappeared in Vermont last summer.

Gagnon had been married to Brooke's mother for four years before the couple separated in 2004.

Brooke's uncle, Michael Jacques, is accused of molesting and strangling Brooke in July 2008.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Jacques pleaded not guilty last fall to a variety of charges, including kidnapping with death resulting.

[PatC]

If I read the article correctly, he'd serve five years in prison (more security) and then do the rest of his sentence in jail. Not sure though. Yes, criminals get time off for good behavior in the U.S. too. Someone else probably knows more about how it works than I do. I "think" say if you're sentenced to 10 years.. it's ten years with the possibility of parole after a certain amount of time has been served. If that time was 4 years.. the criminal would have a parole hearing after four years and the parole board would decide if he/she has been rehabilitated and is no longer a threat. If he/she has good behavior and has been a model prisoner, the person is allowed to be released on probation for the remainder of the sentence. I think sometimes they might be moved to a lower security facility or into a halfway house before released totally, but I'm not sure of the details.

I think whomever wrote the earlier article that has caused this confusion was using prison and jail interchangeably and that they meant he'd serve no less than 5 and it could be up to 20 years behind bars.

[Faith]

That sentence is not long enough for Justice For Brooke- JMO :45024: