Father Who Claimed He Accidentally Sexually Abused His 3-Year-Old Daughter

2023-02-24 09:08:22 Written by Alex

In 2018, Henry Vincent Bennett was found guilty by a jury in Bluefield, West Virginia on six felony counts of first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual abuse after a two-day trial. The charges were brought against him for assaulting his three-year-old daughter. 


Bennett had allegedly admitted to detectives that he repeatedly confused his daughter with his 24-year-old wife after she crawled into his bed. The jury reached a guilty verdict in less than 30 minutes.

During the sentencing proceedings at the Mercer County Courthouse, Judge Derek Swope declared:     "I'm not locking him up for the rest of his life, but for the rest of his effective life."


In February 2018, Henry Vincent Bennett of Bluefield was taken into custody following an investigation by detectives from the Bluefield Police Department into allegations of sexual abuse made by a 3-year-old girl to her family members and state child advocacy workers.


 Once the toddler's family became aware of the abuse, child protection personnel were notified, leading to Bennett's arrest.


The youngster said that Bennett had put his "butt on her butt" in one comment. Cindy Lambert, a representative of the child advocacy group Second Chances, testified in court that the youngster also created a Play-Doh replica of a penis and claimed it was Bennett's "butt."

 

Father who claimed he accidentally sexually abused his 3-year-old daughter  found guilty - NZ Herald

 

When questioned by Detective J.B. Fox from the Bluefield Police Department, who now serves as a trooper with the West Virginia State Police in Wyoming County, Henry Vincent Bennett initially denied sexually assaulting the 3-year-old. However, he later claimed that the child had accidentally climbed into his bed when his wife was using the restroom. 


He confessed to two incidents that occurred at midnight, one involving the use of a sex toy and the other involving oral sex. The jury was presented with recordings of these interviews during the trial.

In West Virginia, the crime of first-degree sexual assault carries a prison sentence ranging from 25 to 100 years. The six felony counts of first-degree sexual assault and sexual abuse that Henry Vincent Bennett was found guilty of during his trial each have the potential for a jail sentence of 5 to 15 years.

Additionally, Bennett was charged with incest, which carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, according to prosecuting attorney George Sitler.

During questioning by Hager, Henry Vincent Bennett claimed that he was promised by a police officer during transportation to the station that he could return home if he confessed. However, recordings of the interviews with Detective Fox did not reveal any such promise being made. Bennett repeatedly insisted that the confession he provided to the police was false.

 

When questioned, Henry Vincent Bennett stated that he kept the sex toys hidden from the children. He explained that on the occasions when he and his wife used them, the child had entered their unlocked bedroom.

During cross-examination by Sitler, Henry Vincent Bennett became emotional and denied sexually assaulting the child, while claiming that he had fabricated his earlier confession in order to be released from custody.

“You thought making up a story would give you can chance to go home?” Sitler asked. “Why did you do it?”

“Because I was scared,” Bennett replied.


During the trial, Sitler confronted Bennett with a table of various sex toys and asked him to identify the object that was used in one of the incidents. Sitler also questioned how Bennett could have mistaken a 185-pound woman for a 30-pound 3-year-old in the dark.


Eventually, Bennett admitted to sexually abusing the child on two occasions, one involving a sex toy and the other involving oral sex, as reported by the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

During his testimony, Bennett revealed that he dropped out of school in ninth grade and received special education. He also stated that he tried twice to obtain a GED but was unsuccessful.

Bennett claimed that his wife's mother, who brought up some of the charges, never approved of him and tried to separate him from his wife, April Bennett. Bennett was represented by attorneys Earl Hager and Brandon Austin during questioning.

In the end, Bennett was sentenced to a minimum of 50 years in prison before he would be eligible for parole.


 "I'm not locking him up for the rest of his life, but for the rest of his effective life." The Judge said.

 

 

 

​​​​​​After reading the horrible crime read about AMERICA’S ‘MOST EVIL MUM’ SHELLY KNOTEK ABUSED HER DAUGHTERS AND TORTURED AND KILLED HER FRIENDS