Son of Arizona Republican Senate President Gets Slap on the Wrist for Sexually Assaulting Eighteen Teenage Boys
Posted on | April 9, 2006
So it looks like having the Republican Senate President for a father pays off for someone who is being charged on thirty-six counts stemming from incidents where Clifton Bennett and Kyle Wheeler stemming from incidents at Chapel Rock Camp in Prescott, Arizona. Bennett and Wheeler inserted brooms, flashlights, and even a cane into the rectums of boys who supposedly misbehaved. Wheeler also faced an additional charge because he strangled three of the boys until he lost consciousness. Clifton Bennett is the son of Ken Bennett, the Republican President of the Arizona State Senate. According to Poliremix, it was reported on MSNBC’s The Abrams Report that Ken Bennett did in-fact write a letter on behalf of his son in order to get reduced charges. Clifton Bennett is scheduled to leave the country to do missionary work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and would be barred from doing so with a felony conviction like the one he should be facing right now*. Definitely makes one question the situation.
In a letter to the editor, county prosecutor Sheila S. Polk defended the no-punishment plea bargain by characterizing the incidents as "hazing gone wrong". I beg to differ given I live in a town with two universities, I know what hazing gone wrong is. Hazing gone wrong is like an incident that occurred at the University of Michigan where a fraternity pledge was shot in the testicles when a bb gun discharged during a hazing ritual or a later one where a student died of kidney failure after performing rigorous exercise while his prospective fraternity brothers withheld proper hydration.
Polk’s handling of the incidents raised questions with the state’s Attorney General, Terry Goddard, whose office has fielded many letters and calls from residents outraged by the fact that the bulk of the charges were dropped and that these individuals will spend a mere five days in jail and that is about it for what they did to the eighteen boys they assaulted. Unfortunately Arizona law does not allow for Goddard to intervene in the case, but it should raise some questions in the community and hopefully serve to remove Sheila Polk and her lack-luster staff from office either by recall or when her term is up. Personally, I hope they recall her.
The Mission Statement for the Yavapai County Attorney states:
"The Office of the Yavapai County Attorney is dedicated to the vigorous, expeditious and fair administration of the criminal law to protect the public and to insure that justice is done, and to the representation of county government for the best interests of the citizens of Yavapai County."
What about the victims in this case? Where is the fair administration of criminal law to protect them? Obviously Sheila Polk and the rest of the people at the Yavapai County Attorney’s office have failed them. Parents of the boys who were victimized are reporting their sons are showing the same signs as other people who are showing the signs that other victims of sexual assault exhibit.
What angers me the most about this case is that Yavapai County prosecutor James Landis played the gay card in defending the decision to not charge Bennett and Wheeler with sexual assault. Landis states that what happened was not sexual assault because neither Bennett and Wheeler are gay. Had they been homosexuals or had they done this to girls it would be a different story. What kind of bullshit is that? If the kids are exhibiting signs of sexual assault victims, then it is sexual assault. And what if a gay man had done this to girls? Would James Landis be spinning the same excuse? My guess is probably not.
Luckily the Internet and other media have picked up on this story and it will not die quietly as much as Ken Bennett would like it to. I also hope the parents of the victims file civil lawsuits against Bennett and Wheeler to at least pay for the medical and psychological costs that the victims and their families have to face because of these two perverted individuals.
*Note: Since I did not see the broadcast, I cannot confirm what actually aired on The Abram’s Report. Transcripts of Friday’s show will not be available until later Monday.
Blog Links:
External Links:
- The Arizona Republic - Light plea bargains in assault case stir anger
- The Arizona Republic - Goddard questions handling of Yavapai camp ‘hazing’ case
- ASU Web Devil - Boys traumatized while their predator goes on mission
- Police Report (PDF)
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One Response to “Son of Arizona Republican Senate President Gets Slap on the Wrist for Sexually Assaulting Eighteen Teenage Boys”
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April 10th, 2006 @ 9:05 am
This is ridiculous. What difference does sexual orientation make? Sexual assault is about power, and I’d think a prosecutor with any self-respect and independence would have pointed this out in the strongest possible terms.
And now one of these men is going to be sent out unsupervised to do “mission” work? That’s scary!