Richard G. Frohling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on August 19, 2022, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Marc F. Bennett (age: 43), formerly of Jefferson, Wisconsin, to ten years in federal prison for attempted child enticement. Following his prison sentence, Bennett will serve five years on supervised release.
According to court documents, in January 2022, Bennett began using popular online platforms to communicate with a 12-year-old girl. During these interactions, Bennett requested graphic digital images of the girl and expressed his desire to have sexual intercourse with her. On February 1, 2022, Bennett traveled to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where he believed the child resided. When he arrived, he was arrested by an undercover police officer. Bennett immediately displayed his State of Wisconsin Department of Administration work badge and claimed that he was attempting to save a victim of human trafficking.
This case was investigated by the Manitowoc Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander E. Duros.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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For further information contact: Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov
(414) 297-1700