Clifton Bennett’s father is Ken Bennett, a Republican who has been in elected office most of the time since 1985. He’s running for Arizona Senate in the GOP primary now. In 2006, when his son was eighteen, Ken Bennett was President of the Arizona Senate. That position gave his son the sweetheart plea deal of a lifetime.
Clifton Bennett (18) and his friend Kyle Wheeler (19) were arrested and charged with 18 counts of kidnapping and 18 counts of aggravated assault for what they characterized as hazing at a student government leadership camp, sodomizing boys ages 11 to 14 with broomsticks and flashlights in forty separate incidents. Kyle has three additional charges for choking three boys until they passed out. In a plea deal, the majority of the charges were dismissed. The plea deal was an offensive 90 days for Bennett and 180 for Wheeler and neither would have a sexual offense on their record. That was not lenient enough for the judge who sentenced Bennett to just 30 days and Wheeler to 45. The charges were not classified as felonies, allowing them to be expunged in three years.
Clifton Bennett is not a politician, but this merits inclusion because of the political influence of his father. He was an adult, a camp counselor, and got away with horrific abuse that another person could get life in prison for. He and his friend sexually assaulted 18 minors. They will not be listed as sex offenders and are serving the jail time one might expect for vandalism.
- Reason: Damn, Imagine What He Could Get Away With If His Dad Was a U.S. Senator
- Mother Jones: Senator’s Son Sodomizes 18 boys, is not charged with sexual assault
08 April 2006
13 May 2006
