A child molester jailed indefinitely more than 25 years ago will remain incarcerated.
In a Sept. 17 decision, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) deemed James Darren Bennett, 65, a high risk to commit more violent and sexual crimes and intimate partner violence.
In 1999, Bennett was convicted, along with common law partner Crystal Henricks, of drugging and molesting children and making child pornography in Willow River.
Victims were as young as three.
Henricks got a 13-year jail sentence, but Bennett was declared a dangerous offender in February 2000. PBC reviewed him for potential full parole or day parole, but denied him both.
Neither Bennett nor the case management team provided a release plan, but he asked to be transferred to a minimum security jail on Vancouver Island. The location of the facility where he is incarcerated is redacted in the parole report.
“It is the board's opinion that you will, by re-offending, present an undue risk to society if released on day parole or full parole and that your release will not contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen,” stated the decision, from PBC members Patrick Storey and David Hunt.
In September 1997, police executed a search warrant on the Bennett/Henricks household in Willow River. Investigators confirmed they were involved in producing child pornography and sexually assaulting and exploiting boys and girls, Bennett’s former common law partner and a dog.
“The victims were often drugged before being forced, manipulated or coerced into engaging in sexual activities,” the report said. “Evidence included video equipment, sexual aids, diaries, letters, identification, receipts, a ‘peep hole’ to view the mirror viewing a bedroom and closed circuit television and cameras.”
The investigation found that Bennett began offending in 1972. Bennett has also been cited for misbehaviour in custody, including non-compliance (2002), inappropriate behaviour towards another inmate (2010) and possession of contraband (2011). In 2024, he placed a magnet on his cell door latch to prevent it from locking.
“Your offence cycle is characterized by a deviant pattern of sexual arousal, attitudes that support the use of crime for gain, financial and employment instability, unhealthy relationships, substance abuse issues, poor management of emotions, and inadequate coping and problem solving skills,” said the PBC report.
The PBC report said Bennett has completed several programs for treatment of sex offenders while in prison. The facilitator noted in February 2024 that he accepted the harm he did, “but there are aspects of your offending that you deny or minimize.”
He remains employed in custody as an institutional cleaner and none of the 23 urine samples through October 2024 have shown evidence of drug use, the report stated.
