Vt. man guilty of kidnapping, raping, killing niece.

AuthorRathke, Lisa
PositionNews

Byline: Lisa Rathke

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A Vermont man pleaded guilty Tuesday to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing his 12-year-old niece in an elaborate ruse involving a fake pool party and phony evidence to manipulate authorities into thinking she was killed by someone she met online. Michael Jacques' plea allows him to avoid a federal death penalty trial for the 2008 slaying of Brooke Bennett.

When the judge asked him if all of the allegations were true, Jacques replied, ''I'm afraid it is, sir.''

Jacques, 47, of Randolph, will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors. They had been planning to seek the death penalty against Jacques, whose trial was scheduled to start after Labor Day.

Prosecutors say Jacques, a convicted sex offender, used a 14-year-old girl he had been sexually abusing since she was 9 to lure Brooke to his home for a pool party by having the girl send Brooke a text message purporting to be from a boy she was interested in. They say Jacques drugged, sexually assaulted and ultimately suffocated Brooke with a plastic bag after she disappeared from a convenience store in Randolph on June 25, 2008.

Prosecutors said Jacques then created an online trail making it look like Brooke was the victim of someone she'd met on the Internet and left her underwear on the side of a dirt road with another male's DNA.

Brooke's body was found buried in a shallow grave off a logging road near Jacques' home after a weeklong search.

After Brooke disappeared, authorities soon uncovered a series of horrifying schemes they say Jacques used for his own sexual gratification.

The other girl told police she thought Brooke was destined for a child sex club the teen believed she had been in herself since she was 9, although prosecutors say it was another ruse created by Jacques.

The teen believed her family would be killed if she didn't...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT