PRESCOTT - The son of state Senate President Ken Bennett, who assaulted middle school boys at a camp here last summer, will spend 30 days in jail and, if he completes probation, will not have a felony on his record.
"Privilege won again," said the father of one of the Tucson victims, a 13-year-old who attends St. Cyril's School, which is part of St. Cyril's Catholic Church in Midtown.
Like many of the other 17 victims, the boy was a student council member who attended the camp to learn leadership skills. Instead, he learned about bullying and abuse of power, his family said.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Thomas O'Toole this afternoon sentenced 18-year-old Clifton Roy Bennett to 30 days in jail, three years of probation and 200 hours of community service for "brooming" 18 middle school boys in the buttocks during a five-day leadership camp last June. Brooming consisted of shoving a broom handle, cane and heavy duty flashlight into the rectal areas of the campers while they were clothed, according to reports
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Three of the victims are from the Tucson area. A fourth is from Arizona City, north of Tucson. A majority of the victims had asked that Bennett and his co-defendant, 20-year-old Kyle Matthew Wheeler, be convicted of felonies so that the crimes will follow them if they go on to work with children as teachers or counselors.
O'Toole sentenced Wheeler to 45 days in jail plus 200 hours of community service and three years' probation. In addition to the broomings, Wheeler admitted to choking three of the boys until they passed out. Wheeler's jail sentence begins May 25. Bennett's is scheduled to begin June 1.
The case has been the focus of media attention both locally and nationally because some critics said Bennett was treated too favorably by the Yavapai County Attorney's Office, which had originally charged him with 18 counts of aggravated assault but then offered him a reduced plea deal of one count, which he accepted on April 3. Wheeler accepted a deal to plea guilty to two counts.
Also, some victims' families said Bennett and Wheeler should have been charged with sexual assault, but prosecutor James H. Landis said there was no sexual intent and that there was no evidence of any rectal penetration.
The victims' parents say their sons have suffered from the assaults because Bennett and Wheeler were authority figures they looked up to and respected. Some say their sons are afraid to go to camp again, others say their sons have distrust for authority figures and a few say their sons have had trouble defecating.
"My son had just turned 12 and he was intimidated and scared," said the mother of a Tucson-area victim who did not want to disclose the name of her son's school. "He's regressed socially. He's scared of the word 'camp' now."
Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk sent out an e-mail to the press Friday saying her office did not give Clifton Bennett a sweetheart deal. Clifton Bennett's aunt, Lenora Nelson, echoed that sentiment outside the Yavapai County Courthouse after Friday's sentencing.
"He's being made an example of because is dad is a political figure," she said.
Ken Bennett spoke briefly to reporters before getting into a car after the sentencing. He said that his son feels very badly about what happened and will pay for his unfortunate decision. When a reporter asked Bennett, a Republican from Prescott, how he felt about his son going to jail, Bennett responded: "How would you feel if your son was going to jail?"
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